Advancing Catholic Health Ministry

In his role as Trinity Health’s executive vice president and chief operating officer, Dr. Dan Roth frequently leads presentations on artificial intelligence integration in healthcare. They often use a similar descriptive phrase in their titles: Promise and Peril.

Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming healthcare. From predictive analytics and clinical decision support to administrative automation and virtual assistants, AI promises to reshape how care is delivered, experienced and organized. This transformation presents both opportunities and challenges for Catholic healthcare to practice the healing ministry.

In exam rooms across the country, something subtle but significant is changing. At FMOL Health, that change is already taking shape. Clinicians are beginning to practice in a different way, less focused on screens, more focused on patients, while documentation happens in the background.

Artificial intelligence is poised to revolutionize healthcare, but its use, from chatbot interactions to radiology image interpretations, carries a steep energy debt that the industry is only beginning to confront.

Artificial intelligence is already changing the way that many healthcare providers do their jobs. In many doctors' offices and hospitals, AI is working in the background. Computer algorithms scan X-rays and MRIs and flag any urgent issues for radiologists before they view them.

In the Catholic health ministry, we often speak of the "sacred encounter," that profound moment of connection often between a caregiver and a person in need. At its core, this encounter reflects the ministry’s commitment to presence, compassion and dignity in every interaction. Protecting this encounter through compassionate bedside presence and connection is a mission-critical priority.

Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing how healthcare is experienced and delivered. The Catholic health ministry is using AI tools in countless ways to improve care, from radiology and imaging to precision medicine to surgeon-controlled AI-assisted robotics.

I remember a slumber party as a kid when my friend’s mother dressed as a fortuneteller, all scarves and bangles in a mystical basement setting, and individually told us details of our own lives with spine-tingling accuracy.

I recently overheard a concerning conversation between two people who disagreed over a news story. Their arguments were valid. They passionately represented differing perspectives. But as their dialogue shifted into debate, curiosity disappeared. They were no longer listening. In that moment, they forgot their relationship was one of deep, personal knowing, and instead, invisible lines were drawn — each assigning a partisan label to the other. Walls rose quickly. Fellowship felt impossible.

The U.S. is at a critical inflection point in its care for older adults. Demographic challenges are colliding with pressures to control costs, politics are increasingly at odds with economics, and the healthcare system is struggling to understand how it should interact with the social supports many older adults need.