Richard Heinzl, founder of the Canadian division of Doctors Without Borders (Toronto, Ontario) and chief executive officer (CEO) of My Next Health (MNH; New York), opened the 2026 Healthcare Design Conference + Expo in New Orleans with the opening keynote, “AI, Genomics, and You – Inspiring New Innovations in Healthcare Technology.”
During his presentation, Heinzl urged attendees to embrace the change that artificial intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies are bringing to the sector. “However it unfolds, there’s one thing that’s certain: AI is going to cause some disruption. It will transform … how hospitals are designed, how clinics operate, how labs work, how research is conducted, and how the next generation is educated,” he said. “Most importantly, it’s going to change how patients engage with healthcare systems.”
He also cautioned that the industry must monitor and regulate AI’s applications closely. “Safety must be prioritized. We must harness these extraordinary benefits of these new capabilities, but we have to build robust guardrails around them,” he said.
How can the healthcare industry adapt to new technologies?
During his presentation, Heinzl told the audience that the healthcare design industry must prepare to respond to technology that’s advancing faster than ever. “Today, technology is a moving target. Its shelf life is shrinking, and it’s shrinking rapidly,” he said. “The key concept to understand is that AI will never stop improving and teaching itself how to get better and faster; and AI is going to bypass slow-thinking humans.”
As examples, he pointed to AI-enabled phone apps that can scan a patient’s face to measure blood pressure and 3D printers with AI systems that can fabricate custom prosthetic limbs in minutes. “It’s a true paradigm shift for emergency medicine. We have technology unleashing quite amazing things,” he said.
He told the healthcare design attendees that they’re in a position to help determine what technological advancements deserve a fast track into hospitals and clinics and which ones warrant a more cautious, wait-and-see approach.
“Healthcare doesn’t change quickly for many good reasons. It’s too risky,” he said. “You can’t flip the system upside down overnight. Crucial systems are in place to keep it safe. The reality that we have to manage somehow is that we have exponentially improving technologies crashing into a traditional system.”
Balancing technological change with humanity in healthcare
Heinzl also reminded the audience that while technology will supercharge capabilities, it can never replace humanity. “Mothers won’t let a machine deliver their baby … and it just won’t be acceptable to have a robot hold your hand at the end of life in hospice,” he said.
Wrapping up his session, he shared words spoken by a man he met during a mission trip to Africa’s South Sudan with Doctors Without Borders, a member of a seminomadic tribe: “I must keep moving.”
“This idea that we must keep moving speaks to what is happening in our world right now,” Heinzl added. “All of this technological change is accelerating, and we must keep moving or we will fall behind if we can’t adapt.”
Save the date for 2027 HCD Conference + Expo
The 2027 Healthcare Design Conference + Expo will be held Nov. 7-10 in Savannah, Ga. For updates, visit hcdexpo.com.
Check out Healthcare Design’s November/December issue for more coverage of the 2026 HCD Conference + Expo as well as online here.
Robert McCune is senior editor of Healthcare Design and can be reached at [email protected].
