The story of 73-year-old Harry, who succumbed to sepsis in the hospital after successful hip surgery, is a reminder that treatment can also cause harm. Speaker Kelvin Samagam calls for transforming healthcare: more care at home, less bureaucracy for doctors, and smart use of artificial intelligence and augmented reality. The goal is to prevent similar losses.
When a Hospital Fails: A Story and a Systemic Problem
After a successful surgery, Harry’s hospitalization was complicated by pressure ulcers, a hospital-acquired infection, and high blood pressure; after months, his family took him home, but it was too late and he died of sepsis, which can be treated with inexpensive antibiotics if caught early. According to clinical researcher David Covinsky, a third of patients over 70 and half over 85 leave the hospital more disabled than when they arrived. The system suffers from staffing shortages, burnout, and growing demand from an aging population, which is evident in both the quality and humanity of care.
After twenty years in healthcare, Samagam says that patients often do not feel seen as people. He argues that change is possible if the creativity and expertise of clinicians and allied professions are unleashed. The key is to relieve clinicians of administrative burden and steer care to where it makes the most sense for both the patient and the system.
Home Care and AI: The Hospital of Tomorrow
Research, according to Samagam, suggests that up to 46% of hospital care can be moved to the home, especially for chronic diseases. Telemedicine, wearable sensors, and at-home diagnostic tests enable early detection of warning signs, while hospitals can become smaller, agile centers of acute care. Neonatology, imaging, the ICU, and surgery would remain in the hospital; the rest would be delivered at home in a value-based care model; this is also why the global home care market is expected to head toward 1 trillion dollars by 2035.
According to the speaker, AI’s capabilities are growing rapidly, and healthcare already has the data and tools to improve throughput, workflows, and outcomes. Conversational and agentic systems can handle patient intake, triage, and generate documentation, saving time and standardizing procedures without loss of quality. He also spoke about dozens of clinical AI applications that hospitals could progressively implement over the next few years.
From Vision to Practice: Collaboration, Budget, and Concrete Tools
Augmented reality already helps surgeons with data overlays directly in their field of view, improves precision, and enables less invasive procedures. Remote consultations allow experts, for example from Mayo Clinic, to “come” into the operating room anywhere, including Slovakia, and guide the team in real time. In implementing innovations, co-creation is key, says Samagam: clinicians know what they need, technologists know how to build it — and together a workable solution emerges.
He believes differences between the US, Britain, and the EU are not primarily about regulation but budgets; infrastructure and talent exist even in countries like Slovakia, but funding is often lacking. As an example, he cited his company’s tools: a generative AI that independently conducts the intake interview with a patient and fills out forms so the doctor can devote time to diagnosis, and a home assistant “Monica” that reminds patients about medications, hydration, or immunosuppressants and provides patient support. The goal is simple: fewer stories like Harry’s and more care that is effective, accessible, and more humane.
