Introduction
Artificial intelligence (AI) has rapidly transformed how healthcare organizations operate from accelerating R&D and clinical trials to revolutionizing customer engagement and medical operations. To understand how AI is reshaping the industry in practice, we spoke with Efim Iuresku, an AI transformation expert who has led multiple digital and AI-enabled initiatives across the healthcare and life sciences sectors. Efim shared his perspective on where AI creates the greatest impact and what challenges and opportunities organizations face as they reinvent their HCPs (healthcare professionals) engagement models.
Efim, where are you seeing the most significant changes from AI in healthcare today?
AI use cases are emerging literally everywhere from early-stage drug discovery and formulation to commercial and operational domains. In R&D, AI models help simulate molecular interactions and accelerate compound screening. In clinical operations, they support patient recruitment and site optimization. But one area undergoing a complete transformation is customer engagement with healthcare professionals (HCPs).
Here, AI not only personalizes content creation but increasingly acts as an active participant in HCP communication delivering timely, data-driven insights and recommendations directly through digital channels. This shift is fundamentally changing how companies operate and deliver value to clinicians.
What are the main challenges forcing companies to rethink their customer engagement approach?
The traditional commercial model has become incredibly complex and fragmented. In many pharma and MedTech organizations, multiple roles, such as: Sales Representatives, Medical Science Liaisons (MSLs), Therapeutic Leads (TLLs) – all interact with the same HCP in parallel. Information is often duplicated, insights are lost across silos, and the customer experience becomes inconsistent.
Our data show that over 40% of industry leaders report overlapping roles and duplication of effort, while more than 20% see growing complexity due to expanding portfolios and resource constraints.
At the same time, HCPs themselves are becoming more tech-savvy. They expect faster, simpler, and more digital-first interactions. Many now prefer companies that offer AI-enabled tools for content, education, and support because they save time and deliver relevant information instantly. AI is the only way to streamline this process end-to-end and meet the expectations of modern healthcare professionals.
You mentioned that AI can already interact directly with HCPs. Can you share some real-world examples of such solutions?
Certainly, wwo recent solutions we developed illustrate how AI is moving beyond analytics and content personalization to actively shape the way healthcare organizations engage with professionals.
1. “Rep as Omnichannel Orchestrator.”
This concept redefines the traditional role of the sales or medical representative. Instead of managing multiple disconnected channels and manual workflows, representatives are supported by an AI-driven orchestration layer.
The system integrates data from commercial, medical, and digital sources including CRM systems, call notes, marketing campaigns, and external market insights and continuously analyzes engagement patterns.
Based on this information, AI recommends context-specific actions such as the optimal channel, timing, and message for each HCP interaction.
The representative can use a unified interface to access AI-generated summaries, content suggestions, and follow-up tasks, ensuring a seamless and compliant communication experience across functions.
In essence, the representative becomes an orchestrator of customer engagement supported by a continuously learning AI engine that connects data and decisions across the entire commercial model.
2. “Digital Disease-Area or Medical Assistant.”
This solution functions as a centralized knowledge and interaction hub for healthcare professionals within a given therapeutic area.
At its core, it integrates a comprehensive, validated knowledge base that can be linked with external scientific and clinical data sources such as treatment guidelines, publications, and medical databases.
Through large language models, HCPs can engage with this system in a conversational format, asking complex questions and receiving clear, contextualized responses drawn from verified content.
The platform allows HCPs to stay up to date with the latest clinical developments, access relevant case references, and even generate draft materials or answers to patient inquiries based on curated medical information.
In practice, it serves as an intelligent interface between the clinician and a dynamic body of scientific knowledge, simplifying access to accurate information while maintaining high standards of data integrity and compliance
What are the key benefits of these AI-enabled models for healthcare organizations?
First, data integration. AI connects marketing, medical, and field operations into one coherent system, eliminating duplication and enabling closed-loop learning.
Second, speed and responsiveness. Companies can analyze HCP behavior and adjust their strategies in real time instead of waiting months for market feedback.
Third, efficiency for in-field teams. AI automates repetitive administrative work, so representatives can focus on high-value interactions that require human judgment.
And finally, structured and traceable data – every engagement is logged and analyzed, which not only improves decision-making but also supports regulatory compliance and consistency in messaging.
Looking ahead, what do you see as the next frontier for AI in healthcare customer engagement?
We are just entering the era of multimodal AI where text, audio, and image data are analyzed together to enable more contextual understanding and interaction. Imagine AI tools that summarize doctor-patient conversations to update EHRs automatically or generate personalized education videos for patients based on their language and condition. That’s where the industry is moving next.
The real opportunity lies in responsible scaling – developing robust data governance, bias mitigation, and trust frameworks so AI can be used ethically and safely at scale.
Conclusion
AI is no longer a buzzword in healthcare – it is a strategic imperative. As Efim’s insights show, AI is fundamentally redefining how organizations engage with healthcare professionals, optimize operations, and deliver better patient outcomes. From data-driven insights to intelligent automation, AI is transforming the very fabric of commercial and clinical interactions
About the Expert
Efim Iuresku is a leading expert in business transformation and the application of AI to commercial and operational models.
With over seven years of experience at top management consulting firms, he has led numerous large-scale transformation initiatives serving clients across the United States, Europe, MEA, and CIS regions.
His work focuses on enabling organizations to harness AI for strategic growth, customer engagement, and operational excellence.
Daniel Casciato is a seasoned healthcare writer, publisher, and product reviewer with two decades of experience. He founded Healthcare Business Today to deliver timely insights on healthcare trends, technology, and innovation. His bylines have appeared in outlets such as Cleveland Clinic’s Health Essentials, MedEsthetics Magazine, EMS World, Pittsburgh Business Times, Post-Gazette, Providence Journal, Western PA Healthcare News, and he has written for clients like the American Heart Association, Google Earth, and Southwest Airlines. Through Healthcare Business Today, Daniel continues to inform and inspire professionals across the healthcare landscape.
