Connecting Hearts and Data: Empathy in the Age of AI

The parallels drawn between our data consulting experiences to the healthcare industry

I posted a note this past week that focused on human experiences as a differentiator. It got a fair amount of attention for my Substack standards. Living and breathing the analytics consulting lifestyle, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed.

Fair warning, this issue is not a tactical article on healthcare data transformations or analytics at all. Instead, I’d like to discuss the importance of human connection in the Age of AI and how Steinert Analytics is intentional with those experiences.

My goal with this issue is to help you prioritize these human experiences that you can apply in your daily work within healthcare - an industry where human experiences are critical.

Data Consulting in the Age of AI

There’s always another goal to set, marketing content piece to curate, data tool to learn and line of code to write for clients. Without keeping up on all these, you’re lost at sea as just another ship - on a journey to becoming an irrelevant consultant.

The digital age was already moving fast - now it’s moving at lightspeed in the Age of AI. It’s impressive to see the progress made in an extremely short amount of time.

I’ve been in the data science space since 2018, and I don’t need to point out the waves felt across the industry. Data pipelining and ETL/ELT’s barrier to entry is becoming so low. For the record, playing with Keboola’s (P.S. We’re a Certified Keboola Implementation Partner ;) ) Model Context Protocol in Claude Pro was a truly mindblowing experience a month ago. I was able to build a Meta social media analytics pipeline of my business accounts in just a few prompts.

The focus on efficiency and speed to outcomes is everything. AI has amplified that tenfold. Just go on LinkedIn and browse your newsfeed. The amount of projects people are building for clients and hobby projects is incredible. AI is opening so many doors, it’s tough to know how to differentiate yourself.

As a business owner running a lean shop, I often wonder how we’ll be able to compete with the bigger consulting firms either locally or internationally. It wasn’t until an experience I had early last week that changed my perspective on everything when it comes to data consulting, competitive advantage, and creating mutual success with clients.

Intentional Over Transactional Experiences

Last week I grabbed drinks with one of my clients. We’ve been busy delivering mission critical reporting for their healthcare organization, so a pause to grab drinks, chat, and “just be human” was fantastic.

Sure, we discussed a few work-related topics. Naturally, that was our default since it’s all we’ve shared between each other up until that moment. The conversation got interesting when we switched to personal conversation.

Talking about our career origins, families, and personal experiences opened up a whole new door. A door of intentional human connection. One that can’t be matched in this transactional Age of AI.

Where other consulting firms are focused on deliverables, deadlines and five star reviews, we’re focused on slowing down and truly understanding our clients at a human level. Even this one interaction has created a stronger bond between us and our client. The energy is felt both ways, as we are both in this data project together, striving to optimize their organization to serve their patients as best as possible.

Now - am I pointing this out to showcase a differentiator of working with a boutique consulting firm vs. a massive corp? Of course. But I’m also doing this to draw parallels to how it can apply to your work in the healthcare industry.

The Healthcare Parallel: Patient Care Meets Data Strategy

This experience reminded me why healthcare is fundamentally different from other industries when it comes to data strategy. While AI can process patient records at lightning speed and identify clinical patterns we'd never catch manually, it can't replicate the moment when a nurse notices something "off" about a patient that doesn't show up in the vitals, or when a physician's intuition leads to asking the right follow-up question that changes a diagnosis.

As healthcare executives, you're navigating this same balance. Your teams are implementing AI-powered diagnostic tools, predictive analytics for patient flow, and automated reporting systems. These technologies are game-changers for efficiency and outcomes. But here's what I've learned from working with healthcare organizations: the most successful data implementations happen when leaders remember that behind every data point is a human story.

Making It Personal in Healthcare Analytics

Just like that conversation over drinks opened new doors with my client, I've seen healthcare executives transform their analytics programs by prioritizing the human element in three key ways:

First, they spend time with frontline staff before building dashboards. Instead of designing reports in isolation, they shadow nurses during shift changes, sit with case managers during discharge planning, and observe physicians during rounds. These conversations reveal insights that no requirements document captures.

Second, they treat their internal teams as humans, not resources. When rolling out new analytics platforms, successful leaders don't just focus on training metrics and adoption rates. They create space for honest conversations about workflow changes, address fears about job displacement, and celebrate the small wins that matter to individual team members.

Third, they remember that data storytelling in healthcare isn't just about ROI or operational efficiency – it's about patient impact. The most compelling analytics presentations I've seen start with a practice successfully serving its patients, not a KPI dashboard.

Your Competitive Advantage as a Healthcare Leader

In an industry where AI can now read radiology scans faster than radiologists and predict patient deterioration before clinical signs appear, your differentiator isn't competing with the technology – it's ensuring the human experience remains central to how you implement and scale these tools.

The healthcare executives who will thrive in this AI-driven landscape are those who remember that while algorithms can process data, humans still need to interpret meaning, provide context, and make the final decisions that affect patient lives.

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Christian Steinert is the founder of Steinert Analytics, helping healthcare & roofing organizations turn data into actionable insights. Subscribe to Rooftop Insights for weekly perspectives on analytics and business intelligence in these industries.

Feel free to book a call with us here or reach out to Christian on LinkedIn. Thank you!