The finalists for WashingtonExec’s Chief Officer Awards were announced April 8, and we’ll be highlighting some of them until the event takes place live, in-person June 4.
Next is Sean Harrison, chief AI & analytics officer for Acentra Health, and finalist in the Artificial Intelligence Executive of the Year category. In this spotlight, he reflects on key achievements, offers advice for those following a similar path, shares current priorities and more.
What key achievements did you have in 2024/2025?
In 2024 and early 2025, we made significant progress integrating AI into core Acentra Health products to streamline work and help clinicians spend more time focused on patients rather than paperwork.
In January 2024, we launched MedScribe, our first generative AI application, designed specifically to assist our Medicare appeals teams across 29 states. In just 16 months, MedScribe has drafted nearly 200,000 letters to beneficiaries and providers—reducing drafting time by half while ensuring clinical accuracy, empathy, and clarity. After demonstrating our thorough testing, nurse oversight processes, and quality assurance methods, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) granted us authorization to use MedScribe in our Medicare appeals workflow.
Another important achievement was introducing SmartDoc, an AI-generated clinical summary currently used by more than 250 nurses supporting 24 state Medicaid agencies. SmartDoc brings multiple medical records together into a single, structured document, extracting essential information and summarizing it based on nurses’ clinical priorities. By simplifying complex document reviews, SmartDoc allows nurses to reduce tedious tasks and spend more time on critical decision-making and patient care.
To support broad internal adoption, we launched Elevate AI, a company-wide initiative that trained over 3,000 employees on the responsible use of generative AI tools like ChatGPT Enterprise and Microsoft Copilot. The training emphasized practical skills, appropriate AI use, privacy policies, and real-world examples from across our business.
Lastly, we partnered with Amazon Web Services (AWS), Washington, and Arizona Medicaid agencies to launch the Safe AI in Medicaid Alliance (SAMA). This alliance provides states with practical policies, guidelines, real-world case studies, and risk management frameworks—helping Medicaid agencies confidently use AI to navigate resource constraints and deliver better care.
What are your primary focus areas going forward, and why are those so important to the mission?
My primary focus continues to be ensuring our AI products are safe, reliable, and used responsibly. Trust is crucial when integrating AI into healthcare. To reinforce this trust, we’ve adapted the concept of Inter-Rater Reliability (IRR) — a well-established healthcare method for measuring consistency in clinical decisions — and applied it directly to our AI solutions.
This AI-focused IRR helps quantify accuracy and transparency by comparing AI-generated summaries and abstractions to expert clinician reviews. We’re also openly sharing this approach through SAMA, giving Medicaid agencies a practical standard to evaluate AI tools for medical record summarization and clinical abstraction.
What is your best career advice for those who want to follow in your footsteps?
The most important lesson I’ve learned in my career is that action produces information. Too often, we hesitate because we lack clarity. But clarity usually comes after you move, not before. Whether it’s launching a new AI tool, tackling a complex operational issue, or making strategic decisions, you rarely have all the information up front. You learn faster by taking the first step: seeing what works, understanding what doesn’t, and adjusting quickly. Leadership, creativity, and meaningful progress all come from embracing this approach. Don’t wait until the path is clear; act, then react, and let the path reveal itself.