Episode #159. Why Clinicians Must Stop Waiting and Start Building with AI, with Hassan Bencheqroun, CEO of the Medical AI Academy — Risk Never Sleeps Podcast

Welcome to Risk Never Sleeps, where we meet and get to know the people delivering patient care and protecting patient safety. I'm your host, Ed Gaudet.

Hello everyone, and welcome back to the AIMed25 Insights Series. Saul Marquez here, and I am here with no one other than my co-host, Ed Gaudet.

Ed's not here. I brought Christopher Walken with me. That's so awful.

It's good to see you again, Ed. Thanks for joining.

See you too, Saul.

We are with Hassan Benchkron. He is the CEO of Medical AI Academy. Hassan, so glad you could join us.

Thank you for the invite.

It's a pleasure. It's a pleasure. How's the meeting going for you so far?

It's one of those times where you feel smart and dumb at the same time.

I love that. That's every waking minute of my life.

Well, usually it's one or the other.

No, together, actually. That's my problem.

Two brains.

I got the two brain thing. Yeah, it's awful.

Awful. Yeah, it is.

He's a fellow podcaster.

Yeah? Tell us about your podcast.

Yeah.

It's called the— well, I am the AI-ready doctor, and I hope that all my fellow clinicians can be AI-ready as well. So it's about AI awareness, AI fluency, and AI literacy.

Getting AI-ready.

This is the time.

Right. This is the place.

AIMed25.

What brings you to the conference, Hassan?

An Uber.

That's powered by AI.

Indeed. Actually, it's more Waymo, if that's the case.

This is true. Do they have Waymo here in San Diego?

Not in San Diego.

Not yet.

San Francisco. Have you experienced the Waymo yet?

Yeah, I have.

You have? Tell me what's the—

First time I took it, there was somebody in there and I'm like, well, that beats the whole purpose. And they said, we wanted to interest people to get into the Waymo. So there was somebody here. I'm like, well, I'm not sure you killed the experience.

Yeah. He says, because if you're getting in a Waymo, you're in there for the experience. You don't want anybody there.

And then he tells me—

Nobody just randomly gets into a Waymo. Seriously.

Right. But then he said, "That's how we did it with the elevators. The elevator butler." Oh! Interesting.

Good point.

I never thought about that. That's why they had those people doing that.

I say bring back the elevator butler.

It makes you feel good, right?

It's a bit obnoxious these days.

I love that though. What floor, sir? When everyone's jobs are removed and eliminated, what if we— Elevator butler. That's it. Elevator Butler Academy.

And that's why they have physician butlers, 'cause AI's gonna take the jobs that, no, I'm just kidding.

Elevator butler ready.

Indeed.

I'm gonna see. Do a podcast.

So anything on the AI front? Wanna make sure we cover some AI stuff.

Oh, we will. Got plenty of time. Don't kill the vibe here, Saul. Listen, I'm just starting.

I'm not killing the vibe. I'm just getting us on the right track.

I mean, we just sailed in the last conversation.

Man, we were sailing. We were sailing. Like 15-foot waves. I know.

I think we didn't call Saul, that's why. Better call, baby.

Better call Saul.

Better count.

Yeah.

What's one of the most common misconceptions that you see from physicians wanting to adopt AI?

Wanting to adopt AI? First of all, those that don't want to adopt AI and they say that it's going to take our job. We just need to retire that. It's tired now. No one can touch patients' hearts. No one can reassure them. No one can get the context. No one can hold the patient's hand. AI can do that.

I don't think I want my hand held, though.

Yeah.

Do I?

Yeah, you do.

Really?

Yeah. Sometimes fear can bring out the non-caffeinated person in us.

That's fair. That's a good point, actually. Fear does do that. Does.

Yeah. I think it's more along the lines of if We first looked at the internet and got afraid of it, or the computers, or do you remember calculators when they said that no one's going to learn anything anymore?

Yeah.

Yet here we are.

Still learning.

We have to understand how it works.

Good analogies. Hassan's got good analogies.

Yeah, he's probably a poet.

Are you a poet?

Do you write poetry?

I could start. Yeah, that might be. I think with AI you could do that.

Don't do that with AI, please.

Ed's a poet, by the way.

That like kills the whole vibe if you— He just got published in JAMA. Yeah. October.

I'm going to tell you this. Let's do AI versus human poetry and let's see.

It's hard to do, actually. It is. Because AI is not a human. And the whole thing about poetry, it's human experience. So.

That I agree with.

Yeah.

But we can humanize it.

So can we though? Really?

Yes, we can.

I just have to ask you because I see your glasses. Are you filming this with your glasses? Is that how that works?

I could if I wanted to.

Are those Google?

Those are the Ray-Ban. They got two cameras on it. The Meta ones, right? They're from Meta.

Yeah.

What do you use them for?

Yeah, they're stylish. An assistant right with you. I can just say, hey Meta, where am I? And it tells me that's where you are. And how can I get to point B? And it'll tell me how to get there.

Do you have a screen that you can see or it's just audible?

The new ones are coming.

Wow.

But you have to have this light up in order for it to be taking pictures or videos. So that's how you know somebody's filming you.

Ah, understood. That's the indicator.

That is the indicator.

But we could hack that away too, right? Oh yeah. I'm sure.

I'm sure.

Don't try it at home, kids.

Yeah. Well, see, and that's the cool thing about this place, right? We've been chatting about this all day.

Yes.

I'm so done with conferences where you just stand up there and talk about a bunch of nothing.

Kill me. Thank you.

This has been so refreshing. What have you learned so far? Something that you came in and you're like, wow.

Yeah, I learned of a few solutions that can be right away implemented, such as there was this morning conference talking about falls in the hospital. This is super important. And I already have talked to a vendor who has cameras around that can monitor patients at night, those that are confused or so on, but they can't really do anything if a patient is going to fall, especially in the dark. There was an AI for that.

What did they do? Were they predicting movement?

It just moves—

Yeah.

Delineates the body of the person as it moves towards a position where it might fall. Gives you a prediction of that. That is amazing.

Does it do something like sound an alarm or—

It sends the alarm to the person, but at least it reduces all of the alarm fatigue that we have in the hospital because now it's all about a sensor if a patient gets up. But it's already—

Too many alarms.

Too many alarms.

Alarm fatigue is real.

This one has a predictive analytic and it does give you—

Interesting.

Yeah. I saw it and I took a picture and I posted it immediately.

Super cool.

You think we'll all have robots in our patient rooms?

100%.

Yeah. So like when I'm rolling around getting ready to fall, something's going to come over and tap me on the shoulder, right?

It might.

Or it might maybe adjust the bed a little bit. Lift the thing. Yeah.

The guardrail.

Yep.

Yeah.

And it might have more empathy.

Really?

Oh, yes.

Like more than what?

Like, will it change my sheet if I wet the bed?

It might just talk to you in a nice—

I don't know where that came from.

You were thinking about it.

I was thinking like a robot. Like, what? Well, right. You get accidents. A fall is an accident. Yeah.

There was another session, though, that was amazing this morning. There was this guy who talked about AI versus human in medical education. Medical students split them into two. You do it the traditional way and you do morning report with AI. Just pinned them against each other and both of them learned something and they were most engaged. I think his name was Hassan something.

Oh, was that you?

AI ready doc.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I love it.

That guy is sharp.

He's very sharp. How did you get involved in medicine, healthcare?

That's a good question.

What's your origin story?

Originally, I'm from Morocco. Born, raised, educated, and fed and exported. I graduated from there. So, I knew I wanted to be a doctor since I was little. I mean, it's cliché, I know, but it's true.

Yeah.

One of those dens in Tangiers, right? That set you free.

I was born in Tangiers.

Were you?

I know these things, man. I'm on a different—

You got Tangier vibes.

I'm on a different wavelength. Did you ever run into, like, Brian Jones from the Rolling Stones there?

Only in an AI dream, that's all.

Morocco is a cool place. Yeah, that's like the epicenter of the world.

Barcelona is as close as I've gotten.

You got across.

I know, I was so close.

I was going there to teach medical students because I'm— To Barcelona?

Oh, to Morocco.

There's this saying, you first learn, then you earn, and then you return. I like that saying too. Denzel.

It's poetic too. Learn, earn, return. Yeah, we get the rhyme. You're a poet. You don't even know it. I like that.

And you didn't even need ChatGPT for that.

No, I didn't. But you know what I did? I actually posted it in one of my episodes and guess who liked it?

Who?

Denzel Washington.

Come on.

Mic drop.

Boom. That's huge.

Come on.

The real Denzel?

The real Denzel.

Whoa.

Don't kill my vibe, man. I got Tangier vibes.

I'm vibing off of your vibes right now. That's cool.

I'm feeling a little.

But yeah, I'm going there to teach medical students where I trained when I was young.

And you're going back to return, like your birthplace.

That's incredible. I love it.

It's awesome.

I'm excited.

You've got to document that. You should bring a crew to document that.

You mean you're not on my followers on my LinkedIn?

I'm going to be after this. We got to do it.

I reached out after we booked. I reached out to you.

I saw that.

And for listeners, this guy is wearing a Puma Cass, this guy's a stud, man. I mean, everything is perfectly— the rings, everything.

Listen, well, watch.

I want to be like this.

Is that a watch?

Oh, look at that. Is that an Apple Watch?

It is an Apple.

It's an older one though. Is it older?

Them are fighting words.

You're too cool. A little retro, maybe a little retro. See, so cool. I'm so uncool, I didn't even notice. Like, he's got retro on his wrist. Man. All right, so interesting origin story. You're on a desert island because he's cool, and I want to know what music he listens to. 5 records, what would you bring?

Well, I'll have to start with some of my country.

Okay.

Yeah, yeah.

I'm also a Latin dancer, so some Celia Cruz there, a little salsa. Oh, Some of the Beatles.

Oh, what Beatles? Any particular one or?

Not really. Okay. I just play them on. There are some days I'm like, today's a Beatles day.

I just play it.

Yeah.

Really just a vibe.

People used to say whatever music I had was a direct correlation to my mood. Right?

Yeah.

Without a shred of doubt.

Yeah.

Absolutely.

You like jazz?

We got some jazz.

Hey, it was coming.

See, we are vibing together.

We're setting the vibe right now.

No doubt. I just felt the electricity. I feel like Jonah Hill and who's that other guy that was an actor with him? What was his name?

What movie?

I don't know.

Jonah Hill and the other guy.

You mean you're not connected, man? No, man.

Seth Rogen.

Oh, okay.

And Jonah Hill. I feel like we're like— I'm like Seth Rogen, I think, or my set, Jonah Hill.

We wouldn't have a problem with them.

You're like Matthew McConaughey, though. You're that cool. He's that cool. Yeah, I could definitely see that.

You know what he said that I used to say before I heard him say? People tell me, who are you competing with? And I say, myself in 10 years. Oh, and then one day I heard him say it. I'm like, you're a copycat.

You said that and he copied you?

Damn, it makes for some damn stories.

Where do you live?

San Diego.

You do?

You're my homegirl.

We're in San Diego. Yeah, I'm in Carmel Valley.

Big Park.

Oh, okay, nice.

Look over the Mission Bay.

All right, all right, neighbor.

Hey, hey, nice.

Look at that, represent.

Yeah, but you seem more like an LA guy. You should be in LA. Yeah, San Diego vibe is not— I mean, you must be so far above the San Diego vibe. San Diego is like old, older, isn't it?

Yeah, it's more low-key, like, like, like, like the jogging pants vibe though.

It's not North Park vibe. It's very cool.

Oh, okay.

Hip, very hip.

Oh, all right, that's true.

Yeah, I like that area. What are you reading?

Nice. What I'm reading now I am reading a book of a patient of mine that has passed since then. She had a TED Talk, and she was a lung transplant person, but also an opera singer.

Oh, wow.

Whoa.

And she wrote a book? She learned— she retaught her lungs to sing again.

Amazing.

And then she had a double lung transplant again. She went back singing again.

Wow. Talk about resilience and commitment. I got goosebumps.

Grit. Like true grit, right?

The book's called The Encore. Listen. Oh, cool.

Yeah, that is—

she's singing somewhere else now.

Right now.

Amen.

Now, did you see her sing? You did?

I'm on the leadership of the American College of Chest Physicians. We call it CHESTS. I'm a pulmonologist in critical care.

Oh, I thought we were talking like knights and rooks there for a second.

At least they said chess. That could be. It's a very cool organization.

Are you a chess player?

I am.

Yeah, me too.

No kidding.

Yeah. Do you play craps?

No, that I don't.

Oh, gamble at all?

No.

No.

Okay. I like my money.

You've never played with us. You'll double your money.

When I lapse the dinner.

You'll eat well, you'll play well. We'll go out until all hours of the night. 3 AM. Beatles.

Yeah.

Sgt. Pepper's. There you go.

Can't beat that.

No, you can't. Absolutely. You go back in time. Did I already ask you this question? 20-year-old self.

You're going to kill it, man. Yeah.

That's confidence. I love that. So like, don't sweat the details. You got this. Don't worry about it. You're going to kill it.

That's right.

It goes well with the compete with 10 years, 10-year self, right?

I love that.

It complements it well.

I've always gone different from everybody else.

Yeah.

And eventually I just know why. I don't know why things— like, I did not know why I was being passionate about AI. Yeah. And then here we are 3 years later.

Yeah.

When you're— when you are not the same, you are outstanding. Yes.

Exceptional. Right?

Yes.

I love this.

Right. Yeah. No doubt.

There's a lot of, there's a lot of builders out there that have great ideas. You know, what advice would you give them from this conference, from your experience in building their companies for the future?

Man, this is easy. Just start. Ready is not a state. It's a decision. You cannot wait to get ready while you're trying and waiting to get ready. Somebody else started messy. And they're getting ready while you're still waiting to get ready.

I agree.

I agree.

Calm the crowd down.

Thank you.

What's wrong with you?

Not a good line. Another good line.

That was a good line, man.

He's on fire.

He's on fire. Yeah, we need a nickname for you. What can we be?

What do your friends call you? Dr. B?

Everybody's known me.

Dr. B.

That's right.

I like Dr. B. Yeah. To be or not to be, Dr. B.

That is the question.

It's always to be.

It's always to be.

I would rather have failures than regrets.

Amen. 100%.

So about 20 years ago, I was in a car as a passenger, and I woke up and the world was red, and I realized it was my— pardon me, I was bleeding, and I was literally counting the seconds to die. So everything after that is just borrowed time. And from that point on, no regrets. I don't want to look like I did then. I wanted to dance salsa. Now I do. Wanted to visit Spain where my ancestors came from. Now I did. It's everything I set out to do. I'm on, like, my third bucket list.

That's awesome, man.

What's the riskiest thing you've ever done?

Throw myself off of an airplane.

You did? You're skydiving?

Twice.

Of course you are.

Twice.

You can't be that cool not to skydive.

Yeah.

Right?

What are we doing? What are we doing wrong?

It's all— I did it once. I did it once.

Your music is cool.

Oh, thank you. Thank you, sir.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Yeah. And back to readiness is not a state. It's a decision.

Yeah.

That is—

that's a killer line.

You're living your life that way.

I just started playing with any of the tools, any— everything that I had a fear of, I'm going to go and do it. So if I'm wondering what is coding, I'm going to go learn coding. But I I don't do it just any— I want to be intentional about it, so I actually study it. You know what is so interesting about creators? If you have someone who wants to get into the business of bread, they don't just invest in bread. They go and study where flour is made, what are the types, which soil. So you learn the entire process, so you become the expert.

Yeah, it's all etymology, man. It's all about the etymology. You understand the origin of things.

It definitely is.

Yeah, because it makes you then belong. When I wanted to start to speak to my clinician friends and start a podcast, I went and studied about podcasts and started my own. Awesome. It's number 18 now in medicine category on Apple.

Really?

That's serious.

Boom.

That's huge. And just for the heck of it, number 1 in Morocco.

Oh, watch out now.

Number 1. I need a country.

I need a country.

I need to find a country and be number 1.

Don't make it a deserted island.

How about Capri? I could be number 1 in Capri.

Dude. Oh, that's awesome.

Yeah, because Capri's beautiful. Or maybe like—

Capri people are beautiful.

Yeah, they are. They're so beautiful. Like, you walk on that Island and you just realize there are more beautiful people.

I got to take better care of myself.

No, you're beautiful. I mean, what are you talking about?

Thank you.

What do you want?

I'm Seth Rogen. Look at me, for God's sake. I get to lose 44,000 pounds here.

I don't know. No, just 3,900.

Oh my God.

When you're watching yourself and you're saying, I don't have much to live, it doesn't matter anymore. It doesn't. Just say to yourself, I should have when I could have.

Yeah.

That's it.

Yep.

Just do.

That's a good way to end this. What do you think?

It really is.

Yeah.

Because I don't think we can say much more. And we're starting to sound like buffoons at this point. And he's just going to completely ride over us.

I already did.

This has been awesome.

Dr. B in the house.

Dr. B in the house. Yeah.

Appreciate you.

Where can people find you?

Follow you and keep up with the awesome work that you're up to in AI and the physician world.

And how do we get to Morocco together?

You'll find me there in 2 weeks. Yeah, find me there.

Let's go to Morocco.

Thanksgiving in Morocco. Oh, imagine that.

No, I can't.

That would be magical way of cooking a turkey you've never had.

Come on, how is it different? Sign me up.

Not just spices, it is also the love around you.

Turkey love.

There you go, man.

So tell us where to find you.

Medicalaiacademy.com or theairreadydoctor.com.

Thanks for listening to Risk Never Sleeps. For the show notes, resources, and more information and how to transform the protection of patient safety, visit us at sensenet.com. That's c-e-n-s-i-n-e-t.com. I'm your host, Ed Gaudette, and until next time, stay vigilant, because risk never sleeps.