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Doug Meil is a software architect, and a data analytics expert. And he had a front row seat a decade or so ago for what many people see as one of the first big hype cycles and, arguably, one of the first big disappointments for healthcare artificial intelligence.
Meil served as co-founder, VP of engineering and later chief software architect at population health analytics firm Explorys. When that company was acquired by IBM in 2016, he spent another two and a half years as distinguished engineer in that company's Watson Health subsidiary, focused on pop health and value-based care.
IBM's Watson supercomputer had taken the headlines by storm a few years earlier when it bested two human opponents on Jeopardy! in 2011.
By mid-decade, Big Blue was making a series of strategic acquisitions to help bolster Watson's capabilities as it aimed to bring its AI to an array of healthcare use cases. There were challenges along the way.
Meil looks back on those years in his recent book, titled The Rise and Fall of Explorys and IBM Watson Health: A Personal Memoir of a Healthcare Moonshot that Misfired. It offers a lesson on the complexities of M&A and data integration, and could be seen as a "massive case study in healthcare innovation gone awry."
We spoke to Meil recently about his experiences, and about the new era of healthcare AI we find ourselves in today.
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Talking points:
- Meil's background and experience in healthcare and analytics
- How the AI landscape looks today, compared with a decade-plus ago
- Why Meil decided to write his memoir now
- Lessons from his experience with Explorys and Watson Health
- What healthcare AI companies, large and small, could learn from reading his account
- Meil's thoughts about the current state and future trajectory of healthcare AI
More about this episode:
IBM's Watson is far from elementary
IBM Watson launches health unit, acquires two companies
IBM closes Phytel deal
IBM Watson antes up $1B to buy Merge
IBM Watson buying Truven Health Analytics for $2.6 billion
Updated: IBM Watson slashed workforce this week
IBM to sell Watson Health assets to Francisco Partners
