Artificial intelligence is changing healthcare quickly. But understanding what these tools can do is only part of the conversation.
How we use them matters, too.
The Pacific Basin Telehealth Resource Center (PBTRC), in partnership with the Pacific Islands Primary Care Association (PIPCA), brought healthcare professionals together for an interactive Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare workshop designed to move beyond the headlines and explore what AI can mean in real-world healthcare settings.
Participants began with the fundamentals: what artificial intelligence is, how it works, and where it is already beginning to appear across healthcare organizations. From there, the learning became hands-on.
Through real-time exercises, participants had an opportunity to interact with AI tools, explore practical applications, ask questions, and consider how emerging technologies might support healthcare delivery and the people doing the work.
But some of the most meaningful conversations began when the discussion moved beyond what AI can do to what healthcare organizations should consider before using it.
Together, participants explored questions around responsible AI use, data privacy, environmental impacts, governance, and the importance of keeping people at the center of innovation.
Those conversations matter, particularly across the Pacific.
Our communities are diverse, our healthcare systems and resources vary, and technologies developed elsewhere do not always arrive with the unique needs of Pacific communities in mind. Creating opportunities for healthcare professionals to learn, question, experiment, and discuss these tools together helps build the knowledge needed to approach emerging technology thoughtfully.
The workshop was not about having every answer.
It was about creating a space where people could learn together, try something new, ask difficult questions, and begin thinking critically about what responsible AI adoption could look like in the communities they serve.
The conversations that emerged will also help PBTRC and its partners better understand the questions healthcare organizations are asking and inform future learning opportunities across the region.
This collaborative experience was made possible through the partnership and leadership of the PBTRC team and Pacific Islands Primary Care Association, along with the expertise generously shared by Chrissy from Waiʻanae and Dr. Ashish Abraham of Caliper.
As healthcare continues to change, PBTRC remains committed to creating spaces where our region can explore emerging technologies with curiosity, responsibility, and connection.
Because the future of healthcare should not only be innovative. It should be informed, thoughtful, and built with people at the center.