The Digital Project Manager

How to Pivot into Healthcare Project Management (Without Starting Over)

• Galen Low

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Healthcare is hiring — and not just for clinicians. As digital health systems expand and AI transformation efforts ramp up, there’s a growing demand for technical project professionals who can bring experience from tech, product, and government IT into healthcare environments. But if the opportunities are there, why aren’t more people making the pivot?

Galen chats with Rachel M. Keyser — healthcare IT consultant and founder of Project Elevation Partners — about what’s holding project professionals back, how to navigate the complexity and pace of healthcare work, and why your existing skills might be more transferable than you think. Whether you’re burned out by big tech or just curious about how to break into health tech, this conversation offers grounded, practical guidance for taking the leap.

Resources from this episode:

Galen Low:

Are there more job opportunities for technical project professionals in healthcare than in tech or government IT? And if so, why aren't more project professionals pivoting from some of these affected industries into healthcare?

Rachel M. Keyser:

Absolutely. Many people may not know actually that these opportunities are here. But here's the thing, really, you don't have to start from scratch. That's the beauty of it. You have so many transferable skill sets, all you have to do is really upskill or just reskill, especially on the healthcare side because it's your skill in tech that is being needed.

Galen Low:

What do digital project professionals transitioning from other fields need to know and understand about the importance of pace in healthcare?

Rachel M. Keyser:

You have to be very careful because you are going to be dinged. You're going to be fined big dollars, like in millions if any patient data gets out. As much as we are trying to also go with the pace of AI, we have to really slow down and just make sure that the safety of the data is there, the privacy is there, the governance is there.

Galen Low:

What advice would you give to someone who is making the transition into healthcare as a project manager today in 2025?

Rachel M. Keyser:

The first thing, if you haven't been exposed to healthcare workflows, really to be successful, you need to...

Galen Low:

Welcome to The Digital Project Manager podcast — the show that helps delivery leaders work smarter, deliver faster, and lead better in the age of AI. I'm Galen, and every week we dive into real world strategies, new tools, proven frameworks, and the occasional war story from the project front lines. Whether you're steering massive transformation projects, wrangling AI workflows, or just trying to keep the chaos under control, you're in the right place. Let's get into it. Okay, today we're talking about why the healthcare sector needs talent from big tech and other non-medical sectors to truly thrive, and how project professionals can pivot into the world of AI-forward digital healthcare transformation. My guest today is Rachel Keyser, a healthcare and IT program management consultant, and the founder and CEO of Project Elevation Partners. Rachel is a project and program management trainer, coach, and consultant in the digital healthcare space focusing on integrating AI workflows for better outcomes. She is also a keynote speaker and an advocate for the safe use of AI in the healthcare space. Rachel, thanks for being with me here today.

Rachel M. Keyser:

Thank you for having me, Galen, on the podcast.

Galen Low:

It's such an honor. I've loved our conversation so far. So like for our listeners, Rachel and I, we've been nerding out about all things healthcare AI, and project management for a few weeks now. And actually it was tough for us to like isolate a topic that we can kind of dig into. And so for that reason I kind of hope that we zig and zag a little bit. Here's the roadmap though, that I've sketched out for us today. To start us off, I wanted to get one big burning question out of the way that like uncomfortable but pressing question that everyone wants to know the answer to. But then I'd like to zoom out from that and talk about three things. Firstly, I want us to talk about how the pace of change is different in healthcare when compared with other industries, and why that's important. Then I'd like to explore some practical examples of how AI can support healthcare projects. And lastly, I thought maybe we could talk about just how project professionals and tech specialists who have no background in healthcare can start their career transition into the healthcare space, if that's something they're interested in.

Rachel M. Keyser:

That sounds great. Let's get it.

Galen Low:

Let me start with my one hot question. Recently we've seen a lot of project professionals who've been affected by mass layoffs in big tech. And at the time of recording, we're also a couple weeks into a US government shutdown where it's possible that many public sector employees will have the roles eliminated, and yet it seems like technical project leadership roles are actually in demand in healthcare. So here's my hot question. Are there more job opportunities for technical project professionals in healthcare than in tech or government IT? And if so, why aren't more project professionals pivoting from some of these affected industries into healthcare?

Rachel M. Keyser:

Absolutely. Thanks, Galen. First of all, I wanna say that for anyone who really is going through these rifs in different areas, both in big tech, in government, you know, my heart is out to you because it's not easy out there as we know. And then to answer your question, absolutely. This is happening at the same time, as you say, many people may not know actually that these opportunities are here. Additionally, like anyone else who may be seeking a job, they may be thinking, oh, I don't have this skillset. They, no one will actually accept me in terms of, you know, the job that they apply for. But here's the thing, really, you don't have to start from scratch. That's the beauty of it. You have so many transferable skill sets. And so all you have to do is really upskill or just reskill for some of the different skills that are being sought after, especially on the healthcare side because it's your skill in tech that is being needed. Okay? And then also for the people, first of all, that either are already project managers or program managers. All you have to do is land the healthcare workflow part of it. And honestly you are in the running for, you know, applying for this job. So the first thing why maybe they're not is they don't know. Okay? They don't know that these skillset are being sought after. And this one thing actually, I'm talking about a lot on my LinkedIn. I give examples of the skillsets being sold after I give examples of the jobs I post. You know, what the links are to those jobs. Okay? And then I tell them, all you have to do guys, is I'll give you an example. Is that okay?

Galen Low:

Yeah. I, I was gonna ask you for an example. That'd be great.

Rachel M. Keyser:

Yeah. A good example is I posted a job yesterday where they want TypeScript, they want Node, they want Python or you know, JS Node, is it?

Galen Low:

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Node.js. Yeah.

Rachel M. Keyser:

That's some other technical few skills. Something like that. And then they say a bonus is if you know this part of healthcare, meaning it's very helpful for you to know that part, at least to give you a chance to get that job. So all you have to do is upskill for that, and really you are in the running.

Galen Low:

What about titles because I think some people, it's funny you mentioned that, you know the sort of like nice to have some general background in healthcare, but not necessarily a requirement. I think what you're saying is that actually what healthcare is looking for in some of these more technical roles, like they want the talent from big tech. They want the talent. Yes. Who is like deep into the technology and coders and the people who are AI forward. But I find sometimes people won't even like click on the posting like the actual title sometimes because the job title actually isn't or doesn't sound like a role that they could do. Do you find that the titling is a little bit different in healthcare? Are there some inflections or nuances that maybe give people that pause or hesitation to be like, yeah, I don't think I could do that job. It's got like oncology next to it, so I don't think that's me.

Rachel M. Keyser:

That's a very good point actually, Galen, because so they mentioned especially the titles in addition to oncology. It could be, for example, front end. When I say front end, on the front end of, because there's also front end engineering, right? It could be the front end of healthcare. And then there's also the back end of healthcare, which is also the back end of, you know, engineering. Right? So you find that. The front end and the backend in the healthcare speak might be the exact names they're using. Could be the registration backend has to do with billing and all the different activities that happen there. Right? Or even the what revenue cycle. So this means that really what you're saying, they may say, okay, this doesn't apply to me because of this. But really all that you would need to do is to learn that part of, you know, the overall workflow of healthcare, and then you integrate it with your skillset. That's all they want. That's really all they want. Right. So I argue that as Galen is saying, is that really click on these jobs and look at the exact skillset because they spell them out, what it is they need. And then from there is where really you can determine if this is something you can look into or not look into. But again, with the number of people out there with the job, how the job market is, I really urge you to be open-minded. You have to be able, in this market, you have to be able to pivot, you know?

Galen Low:

I agree. It's funny 'cause I wanted to come back to something you said where you're talking about the front end of healthcare, the back end of healthcare, billing, administration. I think a lot of folks, at least in my circle, they think of healthcare project management. They think like med tech devices. They think of, you know, like big process initiative changes like, or process change initiatives rather, you know, they're thinking of things that are kinda like a, what would the project be behind whatever Grey's Anatomy, that's the picture in their head. You mentioned these things, right? Right. Like billing, administration, fundamentally the system, you know, operates in a similar way to a business. And you know, you mentioned a few things like how can someone go about getting that general knowledge of how the healthcare system works? Is there a course? Are there books? Should we watch Grey's Anatomy more?

Rachel M. Keyser:

I love it. You know, listen, watching Grey's Anatomy doesn't hurt, right? Unless you have some fun. But when we go into the actual nitty gritty of things, you have to upskill a bit. So where can one upskill the different outlets? Right? There are people like me, actually, professionals who have been in this industry over 20 years. Ah, i'm not aging myself. Anyway, but over 20 years that have worked in this industry from beginning to end. So we know we have a very good handle on how things are, what is needed. And then they're also online where they could be talking, for example, YouTube. They could be talking about some aspects of what it is, you know, the different sectors or the different parts of those workflows. And it could also be perhaps like Coursera. I've looked there though I haven't seen anything. But there could be things like that, Coursera or Udemy, things like that. You know, those kinds of resources now you just have to know where it is that you need to get what it is. If you want the whole thing and you want someone to walk you through it, like handholding, give you a project, someone like what I provide is helpful. If you want just the highlights and all of that, you can also find them, you know, in the Udemy or Coursera, that kind of, you know, resources or even on YouTube. Yeah, free. Just know that it depends on what it is you want. Yes, you can find free. There's nothing bad about it, it's just that are you going to get everything that you need to know? In other words, do you have someone that you're going to work with that will help you, give you more than what is being offered.

Galen Low:

That pairing, I like.

Rachel M. Keyser:

But otherwise the resources are there.

Galen Low:

Yeah, it makes sense because you know, I'm thinking, I'm like, okay, I go onto YouTube. I search, whatever how the US healthcare system works, I'm gonna get a very high level general animated, explain it to me like I'm five type of video, but how do I plug that into how, what my job would look like as a program or project leader. And I like that pairing with somebody who's just been doing it for over a decade, knows the system in and out, like a coach or a mentor who can actually give you more specific advice. Especially if you're looking at a role and you're like, I don't even know what I'd need to know. In order to sort of be qualified for this role or like level up to this role. And I think it's really interesting that a lot of the healthcare professionals that I've been talking to recently have been in the industry. They are long tenured. You know, they're passionate, they stay in the industry a long time. They've seen it all. And those are the people that you know you'd want to have in your corner to kind of help you understand.

Rachel M. Keyser:

Exactly. And Galen, to add onto that also, like you said, someone who will handhold you right. Like I'm being upfront. I'm not just saying because I want you to come to me. Those resources are out there. It is just that you are not going to get the deep detail right. Again, if you want just a high level, you can get it, but there are really many nuances to it, and also that. There's so many. I think we know all of us. Healthcare is a bit complex out there. It is complex. Let me just say, I'm being conservative about a bit. It is complex. So when I say that is that, you know, you're going to find bits and pieces and that could be okay if it, you know exactly where to go. The thing though, if you look at it, I mean, it doesn't even in this case, have to be healthcare, right? It could be any industry. If you want to find, nice workflow, someone who will show you this is how it works because of this. And the thing also with healthcare, it's very dependent on the process before that, right? So you know how in tech you must know that Gale, they say garbage in, garbage out, right? That's the same thing. Like if you start with bad data or things like that's what you get on the backend, right down the workflow. Should we say downstream, right? Meaning that. You'll get someone who shows you really handhold you show you these are the areas you can do, or this particular job like we talked about. This is where they want you to, what to work. However, you also need to know this kind of information, right? To be successful. The other thing also is that when you have a project manager, trust me, I'm PMP certified, right? But even. For you or anyone else who has done the PMP, the information is so much that once you get certified, you're like, oh my God, okay, what do I use? What do I not use? You know what I mean? So someone have been in the trenches, they know what exactly applies in the real world. They have a framework, and that framework makes your life much easier, right, than just wondering, oh, okay, it's all of this. Then what do I do with it? Just to also agree with you that it's good really to have someone at least who handhold you or at least give you what it is that you need to work with.

Galen Low:

Love that. I had never thought of it that way until you said it, but Yeah. You know, we always the PMP exam gets a lot of flack because it's like, oh, okay, and then teach us what we do in the real world. But actually in terms of learning a bunch of stuff that is relatively foreign. Then having to pick and choose what to use, that is a skill in and of itself, and I could see that being applicable if you're just trying to like deepen your knowledge of workflow in the healthcare system, you know, one sliver of the healthcare system, yeah, you're gonna have to drink from the fire hose and then decide, you know, what little drops of water exactly to choose. I wonder if we could zoom out a little bit. Your background is in digital healthcare, and you've been working closely with clinicians and I imagine chief medical officers and maybe regulators and IT teams, and you have to somehow sort of find that balance between them. And one of the things that you said to me in our first conversation was that when it comes to AI and healthcare, we need to go slow. In other words, digital healthcare seems to happen slowly compared with tech startups and big tech agencies and consultancy life. What do digital project professionals transitioning from other fields need to know and understand about the importance of pace in healthcare?

Rachel M. Keyser:

So one of the things, Galen, as you know yesterday, in fact, is when we're supposed to have this podcast recorded, I told you that I was coming from a conference, right? It had to do with AI, right? So I bring that because it was a major thing that came up also in there. So the difference is that. In healthcare, like let's say many of the very regulated industries, which is like healthcare and maybe finance, is that you have to be very careful because you are going to be dinged, you're going to be fine. Big dollars, like in millions if any patient data gets out. So organizations have to be very careful. And as you know right now, before you create that nice cocoon of, you know, your own little ecosystem of AI, right? You have to really make sure that nothing is going out. Right. With that said, why it's a bit slow. In fact, those are saying where one of the doctors was a speaker say that you have to go fast but slow. And what it means is that at the same time, as much as we were trying to also go with a pace of AI, we have to really slow down and just make sure that the safety of the data is there. The privacy is there, the governance is there. And so in healthcare, like any other regulated system, these are things that have to first be put in place before you even think of studying a project, for example, of where you're going to implement or integrate your AI. What is the governance? How do we make sure that the people who are using the AI and not actually taking things outside of the system and using patient data or anything like that? We call it PHI, which is you know exactly the privacy of the patient data. So that is a difference. For example, this is just to give a comparison. Let's say Google, one of the big tech companies, the data that's usually used, right, every day that we use it. I'm not saying they're not taking caution. They probably are, but not really. They don't have to because it's the everyday use that we use it for, unlike in healthcare. Even you, anyone, right? We don't want our data out there or being, getting access. So that is the reason that you have to fast. Do, for example, the infrastructure of, let's say the networks, the infrastructure of the hardware and all of those things, just to make sure that you have, at least within your environment, that is not gonna go out. So that's the thing that you have to be able to apply the AI, but then you have to slow down to ensure that everything you're doing okay doesn't bring problems down the road. So that's the reason for that.

Galen Low:

I mean, it's a really good point when, you know even outside of healthcare, we're like, yeah, you could probably get fined for that. You know, all this like sensitive information. Yes, I know. We're all like, like, oh, millions of dollars and you know, obviously those rules are in place for a good reason. This is, you know, sensitive information. I wouldn't want my personal health data flying around everywhere. I love that image that you planted in my head of like this cocoon of AI tools. It's kind of this lovely sort of like picture in my head. But you're right. It's like you can't just walk into healthcare and have your own tools and the agents that you've built and just plug them in. And go, because all that privacy, the sensitivity of the information means that the privacy is only strong as the weakest link. And if you haven't built those things, you can't go download that free tool and just like start using it or use your personal ChatGPT account to plug in a data set that involves patient records. There are these things that need to be in place. And it's funny what you said about the fast and slow. Actually someone on a different episode, they used that turn of phrase, smooth is slow.

Rachel M. Keyser:

Yes.

Galen Low:

And slow is fast. I've probably butchered that. I maybe butchered that.

Rachel M. Keyser:

You know I've heard of it, Galen. I think it's actually apparently a Navy somewhere in the one.

Galen Low:

Is it? Okay. I wasn't sure of the origins. That makes sense though, right? Yeah. Slow is smooth and smooth is fast.

Rachel M. Keyser:

I think it's the Navy I had or something like that, but I've heard of it too. Even me by the way. I'm butchering it. But you said it right? I think what you said and smooth is fast, you said? Yeah, I think that's exactly how they say it. Yeah.

Galen Low:

To put my Canadian analogy on it, you kind of need to like Zamboni, right? You Zamboni is slow, but it makes the ice smooth and that it primes everything. The game can go ahead and you won't hit as many of these roadblocks, dips and divots in the ice that trip you up. It's interesting because the urgency is still there. I think there's a lot of people who might just assume it's gonna be bureaucratic and like boring by the sounds of it. It's actually exciting, but you have to be careful. And even just to come back to the Navy bit, it's like, because those are people's lives. And the same is true in healthcare. Like these are people's lives, livelihood across patients and caregivers and clinicians, and we're dealing with important stuff.

Rachel M. Keyser:

Yeah, exactly. And just making sure that you have everything you know, tight as well as. Also providing those abilities of AI for whatever the institution is, right? And you as a project manager, by the way, that's the heart that we should put on because also we are guiding these projects, okay? These are the things that we have to be very aware ourselves and ensure that. Actually be a partner with whatever the organization is, whatever the teams are, because sometimes may not be, this big project could start from a pilot or something, but that we are the ones who are the advocates. We are the ones who are the forefront of that. We are thinking about these items as well as working with our partners, the stakeholders. Right.

Galen Low:

I like that viewpoint of like, it's a partnership. It's not just about getting the project done quickly. It's about getting the outcomes and the project done. Right. In your practice at Project Elevation Partners, like, have you worked with folks who've come from a bit of a technology background, a fast-paced, like, almost like startup environment and moved into healthcare? And if so, like what was the most jarring thing for them and how would you advise them if they kind of started to find, they're like, wow, this is like tedious.

Rachel M. Keyser:

I think I've worked with, yes, with those people, but also it was a little bit different. In addition, maybe to startup, it was also where they wanted to implement things Using agile. Agile is okay if you are working from a software perspective, right? The only thing that is difficult is when you're doing the actual builds of the system. If the software is already there and you're doing the actual build, not the software, but the build of the system is the configuration and that kind of thing, agile will most probably not work well. You may have to maybe do a hybrid type thing. Right? But waterfall is what usually works best. And I'm not saying it's the only one that's used, I'm just saying we have to be smart. To gauge where to use, what type of format of project management, what will go best, and that is maybe the part to answer your question that some may not realize that the big tech, let's say, or startup, depending on what the startup is. Also, you may use agile and that kind of format of project management, but many times when you come. To the healthcare side and by those on a big project, I won't mention who, but it was a big company. It's also known, but I won't say which one. The project had to be canceled. It's sad. After using all this money. And we were advising them that this may not work. This is a different set of how things work. Because it's so interdependent from one to the other and you know, agile is like, you know, you do the sprint and then you move on and it, this just doesn't work like that. So that is where the fast, but slow comes in. You may have, or you may want the project to go fast. But it's how you actually implement also or do the build. That really will make a big difference because of the interdependency, like from one stage of the workflows to the other, you have to first build this out and then do this. It's like you can't just keep and go to this other one. Right? So that's maybe where people have to learn that, okay, we may want to go fast, but we have to slow down a little bit because it has to be sequential, almost sequential all the time because of that.

Galen Low:

I like the theme that's come back again, right? This notion of discretion of being able to choose the right tool, when to use a thing and when not to. I'm imagining, but I actually wanted to confirm like part of the reason for that linearity is because of regulation and the regulatory bodies. Yes. And the like stakeholder ecosystem. It's not like one person who decides, yes, this is good. Good enough for this workflow on, you know, let's move on to the next thing. It's actually like it needs to go through a number of different groups and bodies. Yeah. Regulatory bodies, like in order to make sure it is compliant for moving on.

Rachel M. Keyser:

Galen you are right. And it may not be necessarily like it's every stage has a regulatory body. Let's take a hospital 'cause I wanna use, and, you know, I've worked in different settings so we can talk about that. But let's take a hospital, right. That workflow that may be within healthcare, there's a regulatory laws and rules and all of that quality and all of that exists. For sure. Those are there, right? Every stage may not have its own regulatory, you know, like you have to start and stop and get approval, some kind of thing. The actual approval that you have to get is from the people that work and all manage the administrators that workflow. This first stage, then the next stage, and then the next, that's where exactly that happens, right? And this is really to prevent downstream, like we've said, 'cause it's so linear, like you said, to prevent any problems downstream. Because if you don't do this right, trust me, downstream is going to be very bad. And that's not what you want. And this is millions of dollars could be lost. Could even bankrupt an organization if you don't do it right. Because also in my experience, because I've been a consultant for a lot of time, and you could go to some organizations and they're like, we don't know what the problem is, but we're not getting our money. The money is not coming. Right? And so you have to go and look at, okay, what is exactly the problem? Where is the, you know, whether they call it a leakage, where is a leakage? Where's the money leaking to? Or where is the roadblock?'cause they don't know. Right. And so you find that those setups have to be, usually everyone is in a room literally working together because they know that if you don't have it right here, it's going to affect someone down the road. Right. And so the approval, yes, the approval are going to come into that workflow from the business side.'cause you have to work in tandem with them. They're technical people. That is where the partnership really comes in, actually.

Galen Low:

That's really interesting. That's interesting. I wanted to come back to that cocoon of AI tools, if you will. You had recently given a talk about the application of AI in project management. I was wondering if you have any sort of favorite examples, maybe even of some healthcare specific use cases that can help a project professional learn and stay up to speed with industry specific considerations like we're talking about things like compliance and regulation and ethics. And even just, you know, inter-agency interdepartmental workflows, like can, how can AI help a project professional here?

Rachel M. Keyser:

The first thing is from just a pure project management part of it, AI helps us really get some things done much faster. A big part of it is creating templates, right? For example, if you using a, you have to, let's say, start from beginning creating your chatter templates. And then also if you have a framework already and you have certain prompts. Let me back up a little bit. The other thing about it is that it depends how you want to implement or integrate AI into your one's processes. One of the things I would recommend is one, create specific prompts, for example, that you found that work for the organization or particular projects. In this case for healthcare, especially if you know which part of the healthcare workflow maybe that is going to be, and if you don't, that's okay. As we know, you can, you know, when you're creating those prompt templates, you put a blank and then someone fills it in with whatever applies, right? Those kinds of things. The second part is that depending on what part of the workflow you're going to work in, meaning healthcare, workflow. If you ask it that, Hey, this is for example, the project I'm working on. We're going to be doing this and I need you to show me, for example, what are the different areas that I can make sure that we are working or implementing a certain way? You know, you can define that way or you can ask for it to help you with that. That it'll help you to create what those. Let's say risks in this case or mitigations would be, or particular items that you have to look and make sure that they're in place, right? You as a project manager, and then also, like I talked about the framework. There's a framework I use and that if you implement that or ask it from a perspective that you do help outline those items for you. Let's say you're creating your project team worksheet. You're creating your risk mitigation worksheet. Of course, this applies to whatever specific area you are applying to, because I mean, generally as a project manager, those are things you'll ask. But from a healthcare perspective, it's going to give you different. Should I say responses? Depending on what it is you're working, right, and so you find that it's going to guide you. Also be your co-pilot in that regard. And if you're someone new, like within healthcare, definitely sometimes you may not know particular areas to ask. But if you get, like I talked about earlier, that upskill, you get to know at least what is it that I can ask specifically? Because as you know, right, we may have the tools, but if you don't ask the right questions, you don't get the right answers. Right?

Galen Low:

Absolutely.

Rachel M. Keyser:

Yeah. So that's how we use it.

Galen Low:

I think it's like a good tie in as well to something we were talking about earlier about getting into a career in healthcare as a product manager, program manager, or some project based capacity. Even just that you don't know what you don't know. And sometimes when you say like, risk management, what could go wrong or Right. I guess within a type of project in this workflow, within the healthcare system is gonna give you a whole bunch of different risks then. Exactly. If you just said, Hey, I'm building software for a team of administrators. I'm imagining, and I love using generative AI for risk identification. And sometimes Yeah, with the wrong prompts, you're just gonna get generic things. Right?

Rachel M. Keyser:

Exactly. Yeah. Or those that don't apply, right?

Galen Low:

Yes. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. It won't be relevant and won't be specific enough. I really do like that. Something that you and I talked about when we last chatted. Two sides of the spectrum. One was like HIPAA and then the other one was SOC 2, right. Like in terms of you know sort of like the security data security side of things. All of these are kind of like big topics and I'm that person and I've done a little bit of work in healthcare, not directly, but via agencies.

Rachel M. Keyser:

I remember you, you shared that with me.

Galen Low:

Yeah. And it's like, it's close to my heart, but if I went into a job description, or if somebody gave me a project that was like, yes, but please make sure that everything you do is HIPAA compliant. Is SOC 2 compliant? I'd be like, sorry, what? Like I don't know it off by heart. I don't know these, you know, I don't know these protocols, these systems, the rules and the compliance well enough. And I might just be like, sorry, that's somebody else. Like, that's not me. But then I like that what you said about like a copilot. Could AI be a bit of a copilot for navigating regulation and compliance and some of these sets of very noble, but very complicated rules.

Rachel M. Keyser:

Exactly. I like how you say that. That is so true, Galen because, listen, even I've worked in healthcare, what, 20 years. Have you listened recently? And this is not being political. I mean, there's so many rules that come out. You can't keep up. Right.

Galen Low:

Can't keep up. Yeah, exactly.

Rachel M. Keyser:

I've used actually AI to help me. Okay. Really to go onto the CMS is you know, the Centers for Medicaid Services. It's the, essentially the healthcare governing body, federal governing body of the us. It's called CMS. So if anyone hears me saying that, that's what that means, it's the federal government healthcare system. Literally to ask, okay, what is the rule for this? Like, I've done projects in home care. By the way, one of the biggest EHR is from Canada Point Click care, just so you know. Yeah. And you have to find out what the rules are because the rules change, the reimbursement change, and then you have to ensure that you are tracking these types of metrics and this kind of thing. So as a project manager, for example, you have to ensure that, okay, you're very aware. It's top of mind that what are these new rules about? Right? And it's absolutely very helpful because it'll pull that, especially if you ask, give, show me the references. The good thing now it's improved as you know. Many times, you don't have to ask it, but I would put that there. Show me the references of where you're getting this from, just to make sure, because you know AI also is not a hundred percent right sometimes. Okay. It'll show you exactly where those are, so absolutely using it as a co-pilot is very helpful. Co-pilot, co strategist, you just have to know sometimes where it is or what it is that you need, like I said, and ask the right questions in order to get the right answers. Or the information that pertains to what it is that you're doing.

Galen Low:

That's such a good call out about the citations because you know, we always talk about being the smart human in the loop. Right. Being the human in the AI loop. Exactly. That's exactly where it will matter. Because to your point, if it were to maybe get it wrong, not saying that it would, but it could get it wrong. And coming back to the point you said earlier, that could cost your organization millions of dollars, if it was the wrong thing, check the citation, double check. It still cuts down the time, and I think the biggest point that you made there was, you know, you're someone who's done two decades in the healthcare system. It's too much for any professional who's even that experienced or that close to it to know everything. And I think a lot of the time from the outside we're like, oh, I'd have to like memorize CMS, I should go and like learn it. Like I'm a, like a lawyer. I have to like have all of the laws in my head. Yeah. You know, and know what part of the code it was and all that stuff. But not necessarily. We have these co-pilots here and frankly it's not just a newbie thing. It's like a lot of medical professionals and folks working in the healthcare system don't have it on total recall and it's changing all the time. So we kind of need these tools in place. I think that's great.

Rachel M. Keyser:

Galen, I just wanted to go a little bit. That's a very good point you just brought up that you don't really have to know everything. Frankly the good thing now, when you type in AI, now everything comes, but before, for example, you had to Google or go on the website itself directly, and you are searching, okay, where this rule or this or that, or whatever the regulatory rule or the regulatory. Consideration or you know, guardrails or whatever it is and now is, you know, you just get all of it at once. That's a good thing. But the main thing I want to point out is what you just said, that you don't have to know everything off the top of your head. Even as we are looking. Trust me, even the doctors, even the administrators, it's hard to keep up. It's really hard, right. So everyone is looking just to make sure. As long as you look and you find out what the information is and you know these are the parameters under which I have to work, or do this type of project or this type of thing, and make sure that we are getting this outcome according to what is needed, then you're good. It's a tool that we all would use for sure.

Galen Low:

No, it's funny because like, you know, the nature of the industry is fast paced. There's too much to know. And I think coming back to that cocoon of AI tools, right? If you're coming from a background where you're like, okay, well this is so specialized, we can like build some apps, we can divide code, some apps, we can, you know, build some agents or I've got my like, set of tools that I can use, but like not every healthcare organization, maybe any healthcare organization can just use any tool willy-nilly. Coming back to what we said at the beginning is that, you know, it's like we can't have these weak links in the chain, you know, not to take it too literally, but sometimes, you know, we mentioned as a co-pilot, sometimes it is just Microsoft co-pilot. I'm imagining because it's been vetted at the enterprise level, it's, you know, baked into some of the systems. It probably has achieved that level of compliance. It's tick that box. But then does it kind of require a different mindset to be creative about how to use AI within a system like that? Whereas you can't just go and use every tool that just got released and you know, make a Sora video of yourself and upload it to some other tool that you got. It seems confined in some ways, but are there ways to be resourceful and creative using the tools that have been approved within your organization in the healthcare space?

Rachel M. Keyser:

So in this case, are you asking about the project management tools or are you asking about, let's say, the healthcare EHR, for example? The electronic health record system?

Galen Low:

Let's do both.

Rachel M. Keyser:

We do both.

Galen Low:

Can we do both? Because I like that idea of, you know, like we're talking about the use case of as a project manager or project leader. Yeah. You might need to have a bit of a co-pilot, but I guess you raised a good point. Your project might be to build something that involves EHR, like medical health records, patient information, and that will be constrained as well in terms of what is possible versus what is allowed.

Rachel M. Keyser:

Absolutely. So let me start with that one. Listen, one of the things that I, you remember now going back to the conference part, like I just came from one yesterday and it was really very enlightening because we were getting really feedback from what some of the leaders are doing. And you find that one of them, they are talking about what they've done. They've created those copilots. They realize that, for example, for the doctors, even though they've added the ability to create the GPTs, they can't also just have everyone creating these things because it's going to be a mess. It's going to be what? So they have had to control it. Okay. Meaning they create one that everyone can use. And also behind the scenes, they put a prompt that create the type of information that they need. And so you find that. Within the constraints that they're actually giving that power over to the providers, in this case, the clinicians, but they also have to be very careful because you just can't willy nilly give everyone to be creative because it's going to be a whole total mess. The other thing they was saying because of that. That it giving them ability to create like a mini page for them. Okay, let me give an example. Patient has some history, and forgive me, I'm not being very health oriented, but I have to, in this case. A patient who's had many sickness ailments and all of that, it's a hassle you can imagine to go and look at everything. Okay, what's the medication, the history, what is it? They have different prompts that can say, okay, what's the condition? The summary, what is the medication? The summary, 'cause they have all this whole long list of things. They got one maybe yesterday before, you know you knew you as a doctor. What? Maybe you saw them last month or two months ago, something Right? But they got one from another provider or doctor who is not even maybe within your hospital system. But now they've made it that the hospital systems at least talk to each other. Meaning if a patient has gone from one hospital to the other, okay, you can see, even though you don't belong to that hospital, at least as a doctor, you can see that information. So all to say that it's a lot of information or data in this case from a tech perspective, data that you're working with. And so even though that they've provided the AI tools. They have to restrict it a little bit because otherwise, if they give the clinicians all this access that, oh, create a GPT that does this, and then create another one that does, it's going to be a total mess. Right? So even then, within that cocoon of the tools that we are talking about, it's not that they're limiting per se, but they're giving the tools, but they have to limit them. They have to hold back a little bit. They can't just go full stream. And also, that was a good question you asked because I also did ask that, how are you going with how fast AI is going? GPT-5 was released a few months ago, right? And now just what, last week some Oldman talked about how now the apps are integrated within the, like I was asking, how are you guys even keeping up with all of this stuff? We, as project managers, those are the things we have to think about. So, and that's where the governance now comes. Okay. Just because okay. Also, everything is being released. They can't just go at that speed of the whole innovation of AI. They have to hold the back a little bit and also think about the future. How is it that they have to be? So you find that there's so many stakeholders that are really involved. Within this decision making and therefore creating those guardrails, those limits, and those kinds of things. In fact, there's a new, it's called CHAI. It's an NGO, nonprofit organization created exactly for that reason to put some guardrails around it because they're using it in different ways. For example, they talked about equity. We find that many of the hospitals. In fact, they gave examples. Many of the hospitals, for example, that I have all this AI really more in the, you know, in the big cities. In where people can't afford. They also say where there's probably a white population. Right. And then they give an example, there was a doctor, she was a main speaker, Southern Vermont, for example. Okay. It's a smaller state and as far as the number of people she was talking about that her hospital can't afford all of that. Even, it's predominantly even white. So you have to be very careful. These are things they're talking about. You have to be very careful because there's going to be the big halves and the big knot halves. Okay? So it's not just even the tools, it's also who has access to what and what it is that they're doing. So all these things are coming in into the conversations, right? Just to say that, that is a very good question about the limitations and how can we put some guardrails, so to say, around what it is that we are using or how we are using even AI.

Galen Low:

It's a hugely good point about health equity because as you were saying that, I'm like, oh yeah, keeping up with the pace of AI technological progress. Is not necessarily going to generate the best outcome because A, it's experimental. B the thing you said about not every clinician can just create their own GPT and then we have everyone like have their own thing. There's like, standardization is required because these records are being handed between organizations. Its sensitive information. And I'm thinking back to my healthcare exposure that my clients, they used to complain because they had to use Internet Explorer six. When Internet Explorer eight was out because they had built clinical systems on Internet Explorer six, and they're like, why can't we just, you know, upgrade them all? And you've just kind of really shone a light on like, here's why. Because that took a lot of time to build these clinical systems and get all the stakeholders involved and make the right decisions and standardize across the board and roll these out. And then, yeah, just because there's now a new browser, doesn't. Mean that it's gonna be easy to just make all of those systems just like upgrade. It's not like we you know, as individuals just download a new browser, but this is not an individual, this is a system. And I think that's such a huge consideration about like why it's different, why it's slower, but also why it's urgent in its own way.

Rachel M. Keyser:

Exactly.

Galen Low:

This has been lovely. I thought maybe I'd leave with one question because I know that you're very passionate about paying it forward and helping the next generation of project leaders find their path. What advice would you give to someone who is making the transition into healthcare as a project manager or even just as a technical professional today in 2025?

Rachel M. Keyser:

That's a good question and thank you so much. Yes, I'm very passionate about that. I think, first of all, please do know that when all of us as humans, you know, when we have different stages of our lives, so we get to some stages and you feel, you know, I've really done a lot, this industry has given me a lot and that kind of thing, and you want to pass it on to the next generation. And it's not like, you know, I'm old or anything, but. I've gotten a lot out of this. You know, I was doing consulting and all of that. I traveled a lot all over. In fact, I had to put a stop to my travel'cause it was too much. But I've been grateful for that. And so for anyone who wants to really transition, the first thing I would say to be successful is, sincerely, this is coming. From you wanting to be successful. I was lucky that I started in this industry and I've stayed because I see there is just so much opportunity in it, and so that's why I am trying to pull people that, Hey, listen, look here. Look here. Okay, the opportunities here, but to get into it, the first thing, if you haven't been exposed to healthcare workflows, really to be successful, you need to understand how it works. That is really why I talk about that. Anyone can do it. Please don't think that we are special. Anything like that. No one is special. Anyone can do it. I was just lucky. I would look over me at the big tech. I'm like, oh, I wish I would go there. Maybe, I don't know. Get the big box and all of that. Well, now it's the other way around, right? It's like anyone can do it, but knowing some part of the workflow of healthcare is very helpful. That really is what is going to help you to be successful. I call it in your first 30 to 90 days, because guess what? You're not starting from zero, you're not starting from scratch. You don't have to go get a four year degree. Please don't get it. Okay. If you're intending, you can really do an upskill course or an upskill coaching or training or something like that, and then you integrate your skillsets, right, with what you already have and you will be successful. Yes. Will you need someone to maybe help you along the way? Have some questions? Absolutely. Listen, the thing with project management, even when you have so many years of it, Galen, wouldn't you agree? Is that the beauty of it? I think that makes it so interesting is there's always something new. Kid you in let field, even when you're not looking, you're like, what was that? What happened? So I'm serious. I've worked in this industry for a long time, but there's always something new you've never seen that comes out of the blue and that kind of thing. And also the other thing is that there are many aspects of healthcare. So it's really a wide field, you know, that you can get into. It's not just the hospitals, it's not just the doctors. There's supply chain, there's pharma, there's biotech, or things like life sciences. And even now a big industry with AI innovation. Many companies, and those are actually the ones that I mostly, in fact, showing people 'cause that is where your skillset are being needed. Okay. And I'm here. I have a, actually a free community. I welcome anyone who would like to join. I give you a layout of the land as I call it, and then also the foundations of healthcare. Before you do the deep dive. So if you wanna explore it, why not? You know, you can come join. But really the bottom line is that anyone can do it and anyone can join that industry of healthcare.

Galen Low:

I love it. I love it. I love it. You mentioned along the way, your community, you mentioned that you're posting jobs on LinkedIn for my listeners, where can folks learn more about you and Project Elevation Partners and your community?

Rachel M. Keyser:

Sure. Thank you. You can find me on LinkedIn as Rachel. It'll be rachelmkeyser. Just make sure you have the dash there. I'll be there. And also the community is called Pivot to Healthcare, sorry, to Health Tech, so it's PTHT, Pivot to Health Tech and also you'll find me projectelevationpartners.com. It's also there and you can find me on Twitter under my name or also Project Elevation and also where, Twitter, IG, but mostly I use LinkedIn.

Galen Low:

Very cool. I'll include all those links in the show notes for folks listening or watching. And Rachel, thank you so much for spending the time with me today. Love this conversation. Lovely insights, and honestly, this has been so much fun.

Rachel M. Keyser:

Thank you. You too. And thanks for having me. This was fun. And I'm glad that, you know, we shared with the community.

Galen Low:

That's it for today's episode of The Digital Project Manager Podcast. If you enjoyed this conversation, make sure to subscribe wherever you're listening. And if you want even more tactical insights, case studies and playbooks, head on over to thedigitalprojectmanager.com. Until next time, thanks for listening.