The proliferation and potential of AI in health care requires leaders who can act strategically and create an informed vision. How? First, learn the basics about how artificial intelligence can supplement human efforts to increase access, reduce costs, improve quality, address workforce challenges, and impact research. Next, develop skills in collaboration across perspectives, analytical thinking, and complex problem-solving. Penn’s Master of Health Care Innovation online degree program prepares leaders to meet this transformative moment.
AI topics are woven throughout the curriculum for the University of Pennsylvania’s Master of Health Care Innovation and Graduate Certificates. Faculty bring their research, publications, and clinical and health system experiences to the online classroom. Guest lecturers add further insights from the field. And students—who are health care professionals—share their own work, ideas, and needs.
In Value and Quality in Health Care, Lee Fleisher, MD, MLaw and Neha Patel, MD, MS focus on how to critically evaluate AI tools. They examine not just performance, but also implementation feasibility, unintended consequences, and alignment with value-based care.
Students learn to look beyond the algorithm and examine the ecosystem, including:
- Data provenance
- Bias
- Governance
- Frontline usability
- Patient impact.
“My goal,” said Dr. Patel, “is for MHCI students to leave with a disciplined, systems-oriented approach to assessing any AI-enabled intervention.”
AI, health policy, and leadership converge in a live virtual class for Leading Change in Health Care. Ezekiel J. Emanuel, MD, PhD and his students have examined the CMS ACCESS (Advancing Chronic Care with Effective, Scalable Solutions) model. They discussed data needs for using AI to improve the health of individuals with specific chronic diseases.
In their course Using Data for Transformation, Ravi Parikh, MD, MPP, FACP and Daniel Shenfeld, PhD cover topics such as:
- Big data
- Machine learning and LLMs
- Predictive modeling
- Human-algorithm collaboration
- Bias in predictive analytics
- Regulation, liability, and reimbursement of AI.
Professor Christian Terwiesch, PhD views AI from an operations management perspective. “AI is able to shift the efficiency frontier,” he said, “enabling us to get better care at lower cost.”
His recent scholarship includes evaluating the effectiveness of an AI agent in managing a virtual end-to-end diagnostic workflow. He has also researched the productivity and quality of using generative AI to generate ideas. In discussions during his Health Care Operations course, he wants students to learn “how to use AI wisely.”
Kevin B. Johnson, MD, MS, FAAP, FAMIA, FACMI teaches Digital Health, along with George Demiris, PhD, FACMI. Dr. Johnson is a pioneer of medical information technologies to improve patient care and safety. A board-certified pediatrician, he has aligned the powers of medicine, engineering, and technology to improve the health of individuals and communities.
“I want MHCI students to walk away with a grounded, human-centered understanding of what AI in health care really looks like in practice,” he said. “A lot of people encounter AI first through impressive demos or powerful tools, but far fewer get to see what happens when those tools meet real clinical settings, real patients, real workflows, and real constraints.”
The Digital Health course positions AI as part of a larger system, not as a standalone solution. “Students see how data are created by people,” Dr. Johnson said, “how decisions are shaped by context, and how design choices can either reduce inequities or quietly reinforce them. They also learn where AI genuinely helps and where it introduces new risks, and why humans still must remain firmly in the loop.”
“Real innovation leadership in health care isn’t about adopting the newest technology first,” said Dr. Johnson. “It’s about making change that actually sticks. Working professionals are the ones who must translate AI promise into day-to-day reality, dealing with clinical trust, organizational risk, regulation, and patient experience all at once.”
Dr. Patel agrees. “Innovation leaders need to be able to distinguish the superficial hype from meaningful, durable impact,” she said. “AI creates extraordinary opportunities but also risks if introduced without appropriate guardrails. The ability to evaluate AI solutions through a value-and-quality lens helps professionals champion responsible innovation, design for equitable outcomes, and work effectively with clinical, technical, and operational teams.”
Students benefit from the professional experiences of the MHCI faculty. In her role as Associate Chief Medical Informatics Officer for the University of Pennsylvania Health System, Dr. Patel focuses on “AI and digital tools to improve patient engagement, streamline clinical workflows, and support quality and utilization efforts. These experiences,” she said, “inform how I teach students to think about AI not as a standalone technology, but as part of a broader strategy to improve care delivery.”
And Dr. Johnson passes along to his students an important lesson from his own work building and deploying AI-enabled clinical systems. “I’ve learned that technical excellence alone isn’t enough,” he said. “The hardest problems are almost always human ones.”
Health care innovation requires understanding:
- How clinicians understand and trust recommendations
- How patients experience technology in vulnerable moments
- How institutions manage data, responsibility, and accountability over time.
“The leaders who succeed,” Dr. Johnson said, “are the ones who ask better questions early about equity, workflow fit, unintended consequences, and long-term stewardship.
“My goal is for MHCI students to leave the Digital Health course ready to lead in that way,” he said. “I want them to be able to sit at the same table with engineers, clinicians, executives, and communities and speak a shared language that’s grounded in evidence and humility.”
If you are ready to lead innovation that harnesses AI in health care wisely, in a context of human behavior, leadership priorities, and effective transformation, then apply to join the next cohort of Penn’s Master of Health Care Innovation online degree program.
Not looking for a full degree? Apply for the Graduate Certificate in Health Care Innovation. Start in Fall, Spring, or Summer.