Dr Shunitra Chandra Segran

The Abstract -

In this first installment of The Dose Response, Alex Condoleon sits down with healthcare leader Shunitra Chandra Segran to explore the evolving role of AI and digital innovation in reshaping the healthcare ecosystem.

Framed through the metaphor of innovation as medicine, the conversation begins with a provocative self-reflection—what would Shunitra’s career look like if described on a medication label? Her answer sets the tone: bold, future-focused, and unwilling to settle for the status quo.

Together, they unpack the growing “restlessness” across the industry—a signal that digital disruption is no longer theoretical but urgent and in motion.

Shunitra emphasizes that healthcare’s traditional risk aversion must be recalibrated to embrace experimentation, drawing comparisons to FinTech and tech sectors that have strategically deployed AI behind the scenes to gain internal confidence before scaling outward.

She outlines the pitfalls of vendor-driven innovation, highlighting instead the need for organizations to define their “play to win” areas, build digital fluency, and foster cultures that welcome tension, generational collaboration, and agile decision-making.

A core message emerges: digital is no longer an enabler of strategy—it is the strategy.

Leaders must move from long-term planning to dynamic execution, investing in infrastructure, talent, and mindset shifts to keep pace with change. Above all, Shunitra challenges healthcare organizations to move beyond their silos, get uncomfortable, and claim their space in the AI era—not by doing everything, but by choosing boldly where they want to lead. 

The ManuTranscript

Alex Condoleon - Shunitra Chandra Segran, welcome to The Dose Response, a new discussion thread in the Dose of Innovation series. Here we explore how bold thinking and AI-driven transformation are reshaping healthcare—one dose at a time.

If digital innovation were a medicine, we’d still be in Phase I trials—far from the maximum tolerated dose. But the therapeutic window is wide open.

So, to kick this off… Shunitra, if your resume came with a drug label, what would be listed under “Indications and Usage”?

Shunitra Chandra Segran - That’s such a great question, Alex—I have actually already started using this opener in some of my own workshops!

If I had to write it out, I’d say I’m best used by healthcare organizations that want to do big, bold things—disruptive transformation, simplifying complexity, making real progress.

I seek to help connect the dots between clinical care, business strategy, and innovation—whether it’s inside a hospital, a pharma boardroom, or a startup.

But it’s not just about driving change. It’s about bringing people along and ensuring we deploy new technologies in a way that allows teams to be at their best more often.

I get to work across life science companies, healthcare systems, and in startup environments. The one commonality I keep seeing? The future of healthcare requires new ways of thinking, not just new tech solutions.

Alex Condoleon - I love how you call out this synergy around the digital transformation and unlocking people’s potential.

Even guideline recommended medicines can occasionally come with a black box warning. What would yours say?

Shunitra Chandra Segran - Oh, that’s easy. Warning: Not for use in environments with complacency, low ambition, or resistance to change. Even if things are “working,” I’ll still ask, “Can we do it better?”

Disruption isn’t something I wait for—it’s something I bring. So if everything feels stable and quiet… watch out. That’s probably when I’ll shake things up.

Alex Condoleon - Let’s zoom out. Are we witnessing a true shift—a new era in healthcare where digital and AI are irreversibly reshaping the entire sector?

Shunitra Chandra Segran - Yes, and you can feel it.

For more than a decade, we’ve talked about digital transformation, but the last two or three years? There’s a new kind of urgency. You talk to hospital execs, pharma leaders, educators, there’s this shared sense of restlessness.

Part of that is tools like ChatGPT. Once consumers started using AI at scale, healthcare realized it was behind. Suddenly everyone feels this pressure to catch up—even if they’re not sure how to.  

There’s excitement but also fear.

And I get it. Healthcare people want to understand every variable before making a decision. But the pace of innovation doesn’t wait for that. So now we have this strange mix of a need to move faster, but embedded mindsets that still want to be slow and certain.

Alex Condoleon - That “restlessness” is such a powerful word. What's behind it? Why now?

Shunitra Chandra Segran - I think what’s changed is proximity.

For a long time, innovation stayed in the back end—data systems, analytics, operations. But now, AI is touching the frontline. Think about imaging tools or diagnostics. We’re not just improving process—we’re directly impacting care.

When that happens, people start paying attention. It’s no longer abstract. It’s personal. And that’s when investment, adoption, and urgency all accelerate.

Alex Condoleon - Speed is clearly part of the story. In the US, it took over a decade to get 90% of HCPs to be using e-prescribing. ChatGPT hit 100 million users in two months. What does that say about healthcare’s digital “vital signs”?

Shunitra Chandra Segran - It’s wild, right? But I think it speaks to how healthcare is built.

This is an industry that’s designed to be risk-averse—for good reasons. Safety, trust, proof—they all come first. But that also means we’re often slow to adapt.

Meanwhile, tech companies move fast by design. Look at how ChatGPT launched—it wasn’t perfect, but it improved by being in the hands of millions. In healthcare, we’d never do that.

Also, digital literacy isn’t the same as digital adoption. Leaders can learn about the latest advances in tech. But implementing it? That’s where systems, culture, and regulation slow things down. And the coordination across stakeholders—payers, providers, pharma—it’s incredibly complex.

Other industries don’t have to align five stakeholders just to deploy one change. We do. And that matters.

Alex Condoleon - Great point. But some sectors, like FinTech, are highly regulated too—and yet they’ve made huge strides. What can we learn from them?

Shunitra Chandra Segran - So much.

FinTech made progress by being transparent and customer-first. They showed people exactly how their data would be used, how the rules worked, and what the benefits were. That builds trust.

And look at Amazon. They used AI behind the scenes for years—in logistics, supply chains—before it ever touched customers, for example with overnight delivery. That’s smart. It lets you build internal confidence and competency before taking on external-facing risk.

Healthcare could do the same. Start with back-end transformation. Prove value internally. Then scale. You don’t have to fix everything at once—but you do have to start.

Alex Condoleon - It sounds like the old playbook is out. So what does this new pace of change mean for how we think about strategy and innovation roadmaps?

Shunitra Chandra Segran - Here’s how I see it:

Digital is no longer an enabler of strategy—it is the strategy.

Every organization has to define where they want to win with AI. Is it patient experience? Drug discovery? Clinical workflow? Pick your lane—and go deep.

You don’t need to boil the ocean. But you do need to be intentional. And you need a team that’s intellectually curious, agile, and constantly learning.

It’s not about having an AI expert in every meeting. It’s about having people who know how to ask the right questions and translate insights into action—fast.

Alex Condoleon - And when you work with leaders—how are they handling this shift?

Shunitra Chandra Segran - It is really interesting. I see three types:

1. The Early Movers – who are super excited, adopting fast, but struggling to bring their teams along.

2. The Resource-Constrained – They want to try AI, but they’re not sure where to start, and budget becomes the deciding factor.

3. And, the Strategists – These are my favorite. They’re thoughtful, cautious, and yet bold in that they double down with deliberate leadership to achieve results on the priorities they have set. They focus on people as much as on tech.

The biggest trap I see? Letting vendors define your strategy. It should be the other way around. Start with your problem, then find the tech.

Alex Condoleon - Let’s talk culture. It this disruptive period it seems that “business as usual” may be holding us back. What is the new “business unusual” mindset shift that healthcare leaders need to embrace?

Shunitra Chandra Segran - Three things come to mind:

1. Fix the basics. You can’t do AI well if your data infrastructure is broken. Interoperability, clean data, EMRs—that stuff matters.

2. Empower your people. Especially younger talent. They’re tech-native, eager to experiment, and can teach the rest of us if we let them. Match that with the wisdom of more experienced teams, and you get magic.

3. Create healthy tension. We’ve all been too polite in healthcare—everyone staying in their lane. But real transformation requires friction. We need to renegotiate how we work together across the ecosystem. Push boundaries. Talk about the hard stuff. That’s how you move forward.

Alex Condoleon - So well said. To close us out—what’s one question every healthcare leader should be asking themselves right now?

Shunitra Chandra Segran - “What’s your play to win?”

Everyone—from pharma to hospitals—needs to define their AI focus. Don’t try to do everything. Choose your lane. Own it. Invest in it.

And then, be stubborn on the vision, but flexible on the journey. That’s what Jeff Bezos said about building Amazon, and I think it applies perfectly here.

Oh—and step outside the healthcare bubble. The future isn’t being built in isolation. Go sit at new tables. Listen to what’s happening in other industries. That’s how you’ll stay ahead.

Alex Condoleon - That’s a roadmap for every healthcare leader today. Shunitra, thank you for kicking off The Dose Response with such insight, clarity—and a strong therapeutic dose of innovation. Hope to have you back soon.

Shunitra Chandra Segran - Thanks, Alex. You know I could talk about this all day!