What happens when you put blockchain underneath AI in healthcare? According to Archita Samant, Head of Data Strategy & Analytics for Global Vaccines at Merck — you finally solve the interoperability problem that's been holding the industry back for decades.
In this episode, Jonathan sits down with Archita to unpack the real-world challenges of fragmented health data, why agentic AI demands a better data foundation than we currently have, and how blockchain could be the base layer that makes personalized medicine actually possible.
They cover:
Why copilots and ChatGPT aren't enough — and what agentic AI actually needs to work
How blockchain addresses data privacy, ownership, and interoperability across systems like Epic and Oracle Health
The concept of patients owning their own health data and consenting to share it for better outcomes
Why the EMR ecosystem is so siloed — and what it would take to fix it at an industry level
Real-world examples from Archita's experience with Teva's DigiHaler and predictive asthma algorithms
The global vaccines data problem and why even measuring disease prevalence (like dengue) is harder than you'd think
Why AI alone can't fix data fragmentation — and what the next five years might look like
Archita also shares her winding path from pharmacist to founding a blockchain-based NFT charity platform to leading global data strategy at Merck — and her go-to karaoke song.
🎙️ Pharma Sessions is a podcast where host Jonathan Kaskey has candid conversations with interesting people across the healthcare and life sciences industry.
The views expressed are those of the individuals and do not reflect the positions of their respective employers.
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