Finding the balance between AI and human intuition is challenging, but essential — in conversation with Betul Susamis Unaran, Ypsomed
AI in healthcare has been a hot topic. Just last week, HBI published an interview with consulting firm L.E.K.’s Klaus Boehncke and Guillaume Duparc on how healthcare businesses and investors can tap into AI’s opportunities, overcome its challenges, and why 2025 is shaping up to be a defining year.
Businesses need to watch out for what L.E.K. Consulting calls the “AI Delta” — the gap between companies that thrive with AI and those that lose value due to ineffective execution. Closing this gap requires a focus on clearly defined AI vision, strategies and impact, performance management, AI capabilities and competitive understanding to avoid falling behind.
HBI is hosting a panel in March 2025, “What is AI’s Equity Story?”, which will feature Betul Susamis Unaran as a speaker. Betul is a Board Member at Ypsomed, a Swiss-based global medtech company specialising in innovative self-care solutions, alongside her other roles in the industry.
This week, we spoke to Betul about AI’s role in healthcare, balancing technology with human intuition, how AI adoption differs between startups and established companies, along with the financial and organisational factors to consider when making AI investments.
As someone deeply involved in exploring AI and implementing it across your roles in healthcare, what do you think is the impact of AI?
“I like to think about AI’s impact in two ways: making healthcare more effective and efficient across its value chain, and advancing patient outcomes and enabling people to live their lives to the fullest.
On one hand, AI is speeding up solutions and treatments, getting them to patients faster. On the other, it is making treatments more effective and personalised, especially for conditions like cancer and chronic conditions. There’s also been a big shift toward AI-powered precision medicine, preventive care and longevity, helping people stay healthier.
Real-world examples show just how powerful this is. In research and development, finding potential treatments used to take years. But during the COVID-19 pandemic, AI cut that timeline dramatically — sometimes down to just 46 days.
AI is also reshaping clinical trials, enabling remote trials and patient-reported outcomes. This is changing how we conduct and monitor studies, leading to more personalised medicine with smaller, more targeted patient groups. The result? Treatments that are far more precise and effective.
It’s an exciting time in healthcare. AI and data aren’t just making things more efficient — they’re driving real innovation and better outcomes for patients and better lives.”
You mentioned the importance of consent when working with personal data in AI-driven solutions. Given the vast amounts of data involved, how do you ensure privacy and data protection?
“Healthcare is all about trust. When it comes to data privacy, it all starts with transparency, and sincerity about the value we’re trying to deliver through data access. I’ve been getting this question for more than a decade, and my answer always comes back to those principles. If you focus on trust, do the right thing, and remain transparent with the data owners, you’ll find they are usually willing to consent.
Studies show that more than 80% of people are willing to share their data if they know how it will be used and what value they’ll get in return. Of course, we must also meet data privacy requirements, give people the right to withdraw consent, and implement strong cybersecurity protocols.”
How do you measure the return on investment (ROI) for AI in healthcare?
“My approach is based on a clear definition of impact, KPIs and business cases. We must be very clear about two key points:
- What’s the value for the people we serve — patients, consumers, or users?
- What’s the value for the business?
It’s critical to define these at the beginning and then measure, learn, and adapt, because solutions can change as they evolve. For example, a publicly shared study from Unilabs run with 80,000 participants, show that AI-assisted radiologists increase breast cancer detection by 20% That’s a measurable business impact, but more importantly, it will improve survival rates with early and timely detection — an immeasurable impact on patients’ lives.
Efficiency is another key metric. AI has helped radiologists cut diagnostic time in half, meaning faster results for patients and significant cost savings, as previously mentioned. These outcomes can easily be turned into concrete numbers to build a strong business case. Personally, I always start with the impact on people. If it makes a real difference to them, the business results will follow.
Early on, many companies saw AI as a trend and made large investments without concrete use cases. Now, we have real results, but we’re still learning how to leverage AI in the most effective way.
According to a recent study by consulting firm McKinsey, 90% of senior managers said they plan to increase their AI investments, yet only 10% consider their organisations mature in AI adoption. This shows we’re still early in the journey of fully integrating AI into what we deliver and how we deliver.”
Where do you see the balance between AI and human intuition in healthcare? And what about other challenges like data privacy and availability?
“Balancing AI with human intuition and creativity is tricky but essential. AI is a powerful tool, but the real challenge is figuring out how to combine it with human expertise in a way that enhances decision-making.
The key is designing AI thoughtfully, ensuring it is combined with human judgment. It’s not just about technology, it is about how AI fits into the entire healthcare ecosystem, from doctors and hospitals to patients and their experiences.
The most impactful healthcare AI solutions are still combined with human intelligence, e.g. in cancer treatment with the compassion of doctors, mental support with therapist interventions, even in surgical robots systems relying on precision and human intuition. Healthcare providers bring compassion, judgment, and emotional understanding to ensure holistic, patient-centered care. At the same time, we see very recent development with Deepseek being able to provide emotional support and therapy.
Data privacy and availability are also major hurdles. We generate massive amounts of healthcare data, but only about 10-15% of it is structured and accessible. The rest is locked away in hospital databases, medical record systems, and sometimes even paper files.
We need to address these challenges to realise the true long-term impact of AI which can be up to $4.4 trillion according to McKinsey study to the global economy, bigger than the UK economy.”
Do you think the approach to using AI differs for long-established companies compared to newcomers in the business?
“It depends on several factors: solutions, products, technology, and most importantly, the values and culture of the company.
If a company is agile and able to integrate data and technology quickly, it can overtake longstanding players by using AI in a different, more innovative way. Their solutions can become better, more personalised, more accurate, and more efficient, giving them a significant competitive edge.
However, success really depends on the sector they operate in, their culture, and how fast they want to move forward. Being open to partnerships is another crucial factor. We’ve seen many cases in pharma and other industries where large companies acquired smaller, innovative players, but the culture didn’t align — ultimately leading to failure or the innovation being lost. On the other hand, even older companies can transform and succeed if they’re committed to the right kind of transformation and cultural shift. It’s not impossible, but it requires deep change and vision.”
What financial or organisational metrics should providers keep in mind when making AI investments?
“First of all, it’s critical to have a clear ambition and strategy for AI, along with prioritisation.
What I’ve done across different companies and roles is to assess the value chain and identify which solutions will have the biggest impact on the people the company serves. Once you’ve identified your priorities, you focus on quick wins with clear business cases. These quick wins are essential because they show that AI can create tangible value, which builds belief, commitment, and excitement within the organisation.
AI investment isn’t just about financial metrics — it’s also about the culture you create around it. You want to build trust and enthusiasm across the organisation and that momentum will carry you forward. So, while you start small, the goal isn’t necessarily to stay small — it’s about focused execution.
For example, instead of launching a small pilot program in one location, focus on a significant market like Germany, where a big win will prove that the approach works on a larger scale. Focus doesn’t mean small; it means identifying the right priorities and going after them decisively.
To wrap it up, AI is really changing the game in healthcare, improving efficiency and making treatments more personalised. There’s a strong focus on transparency, with a need for AI to work alongside human expertise. Measuring ROI is key, and success often comes down to the company culture and agility when adopting AI. It’s also about prioritising the right solutions and building trust within the organisation.”
To catch Betul and other speakers discuss AI in healthcare, make sure to sign up and secure your spot. Book your ticket today!
We would welcome your thoughts on this story. Email your views to Rakshitha Narasimhan or call 0207 183 3779.
