Twenty-eight million dollars. That's how much waste one major healthcare system discovered hiding in physical binders that tracked surgical preference cards. Kylen Bailey, Executive Director of Growth at Clarium, looked at healthcare supply chain chaos and saw an opportunity most people never notice. In this episode of Lead with AI, host Dr. Tamara Nall speaks with Kylen about how artificial intelligence is transforming the logistics backbone that keeps hospitals running when every second counts.

Kylen has spent his career as an enterprise architect and sales engineer across virtually every corner of healthcare: revenue cycle management, supply chain, patient registration, referral coordination. His unusual path into supply chain leadership gave him perspective most executives lack—he understands both the technical architecture under the hood and the daily frustrations of supply chain teams drowning in spreadsheets.

The iPhone Moment for Healthcare Logistics  

Kylen frames Clarium's value through an unexpected comparison: the original iPhone. Before smartphones, people didn't use their phones as alarm clocks. You had a Blackberry for email, a separate device for calls, maybe a calculator in your desk drawer, and definitely an alarm clock on your nightstand. Then the iPhone consolidated everything into one place. Healthcare supply chains operate in that pre-iPhone era.

Supply chain teams juggle 30 browser tabs simultaneously. Excel spreadsheets track orders. eFaxes confirm deliveries. Phone calls verify shipments. Websites check inventory. Every data source lives in its own silo, forcing humans to manually connect dots across thousands of suppliers, distributors, and internal systems. Clarium acts as mission control, pulling all those scattered data sources into one platform that delivers real-time insights. The "Holy Smokes" moment typically hits during the first demo when teams realize they're looking at their entire supply chain ecosystem in one place for the first time.

How AI Predicted Hurricane Damage Before It Hit  

Under the hood, Clarium integrates with electronic health records like Epic, enterprise resource planning systems, warehouse management software, and the actual distributors who deliver medical supplies. It's pulling information from thousands of places simultaneously, then running that data through hundreds of algorithms. When hurricanes threatened Western North Carolina, Clarium analyzed data from a Louisiana healthcare system while simultaneously tracking weather trajectories. The AI identified a factory that supplied surgical gowns sitting directly in the storm's path. The platform calculated that 200 gowns needed for 150 upcoming procedures wouldn't arrive on time.

More specifically, it determined that 10 orthopedic surgeries requiring one particular gown type would definitely be affected. Then it recommended alternative gown suppliers based on what other Clarium customers had already approved. This happened automatically. No supply chain manager needed to manually track weather patterns, cross-reference factory locations, calculate procedure requirements, and research backup suppliers. The AI processed 872 data points to deliver one actionable insight: these specific surgeries need this specific backup supplier.

The $28 Million Problem Hiding in Paper Binders  

Preference cards represent one of healthcare's most expensive invisible problems. Every surgeon has preferences for the tools they use during procedures. A torn labrum surgery requires plastic hooks for the shoulder, specific scalpels, particular medicines, certain gloves and gowns and face shields. Each surgeon's preferences get documented on what's called a preference card that tells the supply team exactly what to prepare. In practice, these cards live in massive physical binders at many leading healthcare systems. They get updated rarely if ever. Surgeons request changes occasionally, but the binder doesn't reflect current reality. So supply teams order materials based on outdated information. They open packages for items never used in surgery, creating immediate sunk costs.

Clarium partnered with a major Midwest/Northeast healthcare system to analyze their preference card waste. The AI identified $28 million in savings from eliminating unused materials and updating outdated preferences. Another small Midwest system set a goal to save $2 million over 18 months. Clarium delivered that full savings in 90 days and continued finding more waste beyond the original target. These aren't projections or estimates. These are actualized savings signed off by healthcare system leadership teams. Real money recovered from eliminating waste that paper binders couldn't track.

Why Staying Unbiased Matters During Crisis  

Healthcare supply chain relationships typically involve complicated partnerships between distributors and healthcare systems. Many platforms have financial incentives favoring specific suppliers. Clarium positions itself as the first fully unbiased organization in healthcare supply chain AI. The platform isn't tied to any individual distributor or supplier. This matters because essentially zero healthcare systems source all supplies from one distributor. When disruptions hit—whether from weather, geopolitics, or shipping issues—they need to know which alternative suppliers can pick up the slack immediately. Unbiased intelligence becomes critical during crisis moments.

Data Ethics Transformed Since 2018  

Kylen started working in healthcare AI in 2018. Back then, data retention and data use rarely came up during contract negotiations. Today, everyone understands that AI doesn't work without data, and healthcare data carries exceptional sensitivity. How that data gets retained, received, transferred, and used has become the largest negotiation point in every healthcare AI deal. Clarium doesn't work with sensitive patient information for logistics purposes—the platform doesn't need personal health data to optimize supply chains. But the broader principle applies universally. Data ultimately impacts patients. Every startup building in this space must establish appropriate safeguards and respect each healthcare system's comfort boundaries.

The Future Built on Robots and Consolidated Platforms  

Healthcare systems are building their own warehouses with robots moving supplies like Amazon distribution centers. Kylen sees the next five years bringing advancements equal to 30 or 40 years of traditional progress. AI is moving faster than any technology since the internet's invention. Two major shifts will reshape healthcare logistics. First, platform consolidation. Just like alarm clock sales collapsed after smartphones, specialized healthcare software will get absorbed into efficient AI-led platforms. The 30 tabs supply chain teams currently juggle will become one intelligent interface. Second, hardware automation will handle redundant tasks. Robots will physically move supplies while AI coordinates the entire ecosystem. Healthcare typically lags behind other industries in technology adoption, but financial pressure and capability advancement will accelerate change.

What Supply Chain Teaches Us  

Most people never think about the supply chain until it breaks. COVID created that awareness moment when ships sat off Long Beach harbor for months. When supply chains get disrupted, modern life flips upside down. Kylen challenges people to pay attention next time they visit a doctor. Notice every physical item the clinician uses. Every single object represents someone working through archaic platforms to ensure that specific tool reaches that specific clinician at that exact moment. Without those systems working correctly, routine doctor appointments become impossible. Supply chain advancements rank as the most underrated tech trend. Not flashy consumer applications. The unglamorous work of getting things from one place to another at the right time. The world doesn't work if we can't move things efficiently.

Getting Started Without Overthinking  

For anyone curious about Clarium specifically, visit clariumhealth.com to see recent announcements. Major partnerships and expansions are being announced over the next few months. More broadly, explore AI developments in whatever industry interests you most. Thousands of smaller companies work on fascinating problems you've never heard about. Stay diversified. Don't put blinders on and only follow one type of AI application. Clarium represents the type of AI application that matters most: unsexy infrastructure that prevents crises before they happen.

Twenty-eight million dollars in waste eliminated. Two million saved in 90 days instead of 18 months. Real numbers from real healthcare systems solving real problems. Want to experience AI-powered healthcare supply chain resilience? Visit clariumhealth.com to discover how Clarium consolidates siloed data, predicts disruptions in real-time, and saves healthcare systems millions through intelligent logistics automation.

For more insights on how AI is transforming business and society, subscribe to the Lead with AI podcast, where we explore the frontiers of artificial intelligence with the innovators who are shaping its development.

Follow or Subscribe to Lead with AI Podcast on your favorite platforms:

Website: LeadwithAIPodcast.com | Apple Podcasts: Lead-with-AI | Spotify: Lead with AI | Podbean: Lead-with-AI-Podcast | YouTube: @LeadWithAiPodcast | Facebook: Lead With AI | Instagram: @leadwithaipodcast | TikTok: @leadwithaipodcast | Twitter (X): @LeadWithAi

Follow Dr. Tamara Nall:

LinkedIn: @TamaraNall | Website: TamaraNall.com | Email: Tamara@LeadwithAIPodcast.com

Connect with Kylen Bailey: LinkedIn: @KylenBailey | Medium: KylenBailey.Medium.com | Email: kylen@clariumhealth.com

Follow Clarium Health: Website: ClariumHealth.com | LinkedIn: @Clarium-Health