Why AI Doesn’t Replace People in Hospitals — It Saves Them

Inside Mayo Clinic’s Data-Driven Strategy to
Protect Human-Centered Care

In an era of staffing shortages and clinical burnout, healthcare leaders are looking to technology for relief. But the question remains: Can AI and automation actually protect the people delivering care or will it replace them?

According to Lindsay Lehman, Associate Administrator for Hospital Operations at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, the answer is clear. Technology should not substitute human expertise. It should safeguard it.

In our latest episode of The Interconnectedness of Things, Lehman walked us through how Mayo Clinic uses real-time data, AI, and workflow design to protect clinical capacity, support staff, and maintain quality at scale.

AI That Enhances Human Judgment

Mayo Clinic’s approach to automation is guided by the principle of “human-in-the-loop” design. Technology is embedded in workflows not to reduce staff, but to relieve them of administrative weight so they can focus on what matters most: patients, people, and outcomes.

“We don’t see AI replacing people,” Lehman said. “We see it as freeing them up to do what only they can do.”

This position aligns with guidance from the AMA and ONC’s AI Playbook, which advocate for augmented intelligence rather than full autonomy in clinical settings.

Distributed Innovation, Enterprise Scale

Lehman shared that Mayo currently uses more than 300 AI algorithms across departments—from critical care to pharmacy and imaging.

Rather than concentrating this work in a central innovation team, Mayo empowers its business units and specialties to experiment, while maintaining oversight through rigorous governance.

This distributed model is supported by the Mayo Clinic Platform, a cloud-based infrastructure built to securely aggregate clinical and partner data for insight generation, machine learning, and scalable innovation.

“There’s so much we don’t know yet. But if we’re not trying new things, we’re falling behind,” Lehman said.

She emphasized that experimentation doesn’t mean abandoning ethics or safety, it means committing to learning while upholding trust.

Trust First: Privacy and Ethics in Practice

Mayo’s technology approach is grounded in patient trust. Lehman was clear that every algorithm, dashboard, and automation workflow must meet the highest standards of privacy and data stewardship.

Mayo’s teams follow HIPAA requirements and go beyond them, ensuring consent-driven data sharing and secure infrastructure across all systems.

“There is nothing more important to us than our patients’ trust,” Lehman said.

Technology Doesn’t Replace People. It Protects Them.

During the episode, co-host Dr. Andrew Hutson recalled a conversation with a surgeon who claimed that, “AI will never come into the OR.”

But Lehman’s response reflected a more adaptive mindset. She acknowledged that AI tools, like imaging analysis, surgical planning assistants, and intraoperative monitoring systems, are already present in many ORs. Their role isn’t to replace the surgeon, but to enhance clinical awareness and reduce preventable error.

“It’s not about speed for its own sake. It’s about going far, together,” Lehman said, reflecting on Mayo’s collaborative model of digital transformation.

QFlow’s Perspective

At QFlow, we recognize the challenge facing health systems today: do more with fewer resources, without compromising quality. Mayo Clinic’s strategy demonstrates how to scale operations without sacrificing people.

By embedding AI, analytics, and workflow automation into leadership and clinical operations, organizations like Mayo are creating resilient models of care that work for both staff and patients.

Listen to the full episode of The Interconnectedness of Things to hear more from Lindsay Lehman on how Mayo Clinic is building a sustainable, tech-enabled future.

Explore QFlow’s automation solutions to learn how your organization can reduce administrative burden, drive staff engagement, and ensure mission continuity through secure and automated document management.