UW Health has appointed Dr. Brian Patterson as its inaugural physician administrative director of clinical artificial intelligence (AI). Patterson will provide leadership and oversight for AI initiatives at UW Health, including generative AI and large language models.
In this role integrating new technologies with patient care, Patterson will oversee the application and evaluation of algorithms and machine learning techniques that support health care providers to improve medical diagnosis, treatment and disease prevention.
Patterson’s appointment builds on his notable accomplishments as medical informatics director of predictive analytics for UW Health, in which he has led the development of predictive analytics and machine learning algorithms that have improved patient care, including a model his research team developed to identify older adults at high risk of falls after visits to the emergency department and refer them to preventive services.
“AI holds enormous potential to improve the practice of medicine while easing provider burden,” Patterson said. “Like any new technology, these improvements will not be realized unless we do the hard work of carefully integrating AI tools and rigorously evaluating their impact and safety. A major priority in this effort is balancing innovation with safety, ensuring both careful design and ongoing monitoring.”
Patterson, who was also recently recognized by Becker’s Health IT as an emerging leader in national efforts to transform healthcare delivery through outcomes-based AI solutions, is active in national clinical AI research and leadership networks. He is a member of the Health AI Partnership and the Measuring AI Maturity in Healthcare Organizations project, and has contributed to the AI Maturity Roadmap for the Health Management Academy. Patterson has also spoken on AI governance in prominent venues, including Stanford University’s Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, the Health Management Academy, Scottsdale Institute, Marsal and Alvarez, and Epic.
Patterson will work closely with Frank Liao, senior director of digital health and emerging technologies, and Joel Gordon, chief medical information officer, UW Health. He will continue to serve as Medical Informatics Director of Predictive Analytics.
AI initiatives at UW Health include collaborations with Microsoft and Epic aimed at integrating generative AI into health care. One notable project is the AI pilot program that has helped draft over 5,000 messages to patients.
“I look forward to continuing to test and advance AI in health care,” Patterson said. “With a focus on responsible and effective technology integration, we hope to improve patient care while alleviating burnout for providers.”
The position was effective in June 2024.
Brian Patterson, MD, MPH, is an associate professor with tenure in the BerbeeWalsh Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. He obtained his medical degree at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, where he also completed his master’s degree. He completed his emergency medicine residency at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, serving as chief resident his final year. Dr. Patterson is board-certified in emergency medicine and clinical informatics and practices clinically at the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics.