For decades, healthcare has generated massive amounts of data—patient records, lab results, imaging reports, clinical notes—but much of it has remained locked away in silos. As oncology care becomes more complex, the challenge is no longer just collecting data, but connecting it, contextualizing it, and putting it into the hands of clinicians and patients at the right moment.
That’s the focus of the latest episode of the Innovate Oncology Podcast, featuring Andy Corts, Chief Technology Officer at OneOncology. With more than two decades of leadership in healthcare technology—including roles at Ernst & Young, HCA, and Sarah Cannon—Andy has been at the forefront of every major wave of digital transformation: patient portals, EHRs, mobile and cloud platforms, and now, artificial intelligence.
Reflecting on his journey, Andy describes his work as being driven by one central question:
“How can we better capture, connect, and use data to improve patient care?”
- Andy Corts, CTO at OneOncology
From the early days of patient portals in the late 1990s, through the rise of EHRs and mobile computing, Andy’s focus has consistently been on how to unify information across systems. Today, he believes AI offers the greatest opportunity yet to unlock the value of unstructured data—clinical notes, care conversations, and imaging reports—and deliver insights directly at the point of care.
Despite decades of progress, Andy points out that many of the struggles patients and clinicians face today are the same as they were 25 years ago. He shares a personal story of his father’s hospitalization, where access to critical information was fragmented and often unavailable in real time.
“We know what the experience should be,” Andy reflects, “but getting there is incredibly difficult.”
From specialists not sharing comprehensive notes to patient portals offering little more than PDFs, the current experience still leaves much to be desired. Andy sees AI as a game-changer for bridging these gaps, capturing conversations, summarizing care, and making data usable for both patients and providers.
Technology in oncology isn’t just about automation and efficiency—it’s about the patient journey. Andy emphasizes that digital solutions must complement, not replace, the human experience of care.
“We as technologists have to deliver the same kind of experience digitally as you can get if you’re talking to a world-class nurse or physician,” he says.
Whether through better-designed portals, streamlined communication tools like Navigating Care, or AI-driven insights at the bedside, the goal is the same: to create a more compassionate, informed, and coordinated care experience.
As he looks to the future, Andy is clear: AI will be at the center of oncology’s next wave of transformation. From improving triage and care management to empowering physicians with real-time evidence and supporting patients with greater transparency, AI has the potential to fundamentally reshape cancer care.
“Cancer care is one of the industries most ripe for innovation when it comes to large language models,” Andy notes. “The ability to navigate unstructured data and return it in meaningful ways will transform both the clinical and patient experience.”
Andy’s perspective offers both a candid look at the challenges that remain and an inspiring vision for what’s possible when data, technology, and compassion align.
The Innovate Oncology Podcast is presented by Azra AI and available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts. Subscribe on your preferred platform so you never miss an episode.