John Shaw
Chief Country Executive, Carelon Global Solutions Ireland
Leveraging AI, predictive models and data insights, professionals are transforming healthcare to enhance patient outcomes, streamline operations and make care more accessible worldwide.
In September 2021, Carelon Global Solutions Ireland launched with a promise of 60 jobs at its Limerick headquarters. The goal was to recruit expert Data Scientists and Artificial Intelligence engineers working together aiming to make healthcare simple, affordable and accessible. Less than three years later, they have. The company, which is supported by IDA, has 300 highly skilled associates.
Securing seamless operations in healthcare
The success of the operation has been such that it has grown, but the purpose remains the same — making healthcare operations streamlined and seamless, so its customers can focus on care.
Ultimately, those customers are 100 million plus people, who are served by Carelon and its parent company, Elevance Health, one of the largest healthcare companies in the US, a company transforming itself from a traditional health benefits organization into a lifetime trusted health partner with a whole health approach.
So, Carelon Global Solutions Ireland is playing an important role in this pursuit of advancing the health of the healthcare system.
Limitless impact through AI-enabled healthcare
It’s a noble pursuit for the 300 Irish associates who are challenged and excited every day by their ‘Think Limitless’ ethos. As Chief Country Executive for Ireland John Patrick Shaw states: “The opportunity to impact positively on healthcare is limitless.”
They are boldly going about making this transformation happen by innovating with the development of powerful technologies, including AI, to create solutions that help associates solve healthcare’s greatest challenges.
The route is clear. Data powers the AI tools, predictive models, and insights that unlock the potential for exponential uplift in healthcare efficiencies.
The opportunity is huge for us to transform healthcare. We work with cutting-edge technology and have hired the very best people to do this.
Professionals solving everyday challenges
“We are an international team of like-minded innovators in healthcare, operations and technology that simplifies and solves some of the most complex challenges facing the industry today,” says Shaw. “That’s what excites us every day.”
The Dundalk native has spent three decades working in digital transformation, including with some of the most innovative, entrepreneurial Irish companies. Yet, he feels, that because of technological advancements, we are now at an intersection that is going to lead to exponential gain in healthcare.
Driven by a talented team with a purpose
None of this, however, he says, can happen without talented people. “At Carelon, we bring together today’s brightest minds to change how healthcare works. It is all about simplifying complexities to positively improve the health of humanity and we are fortunate to have some of the most talented people working in health tech in Ireland,” explains Shaw.
“We believe we have been able to attract and retain top talent because of the culture we have created — something we work very hard on. We are proud to have diversity representation in Carelon with 35 nations represented, which in my view is critical for innovation to really work. But they also, of course, come here because of our purpose.”
How quality data equips AI in healthcare
Shaw says that the company is driven by an opportunity to help bring the healthcare system together in new ways, to create something better and more connected.
“AI-driven tools can be game-changing for healthcare at an individual level but also overall healthcare outcomes, but only if they are given the right data and those tools are built and used in a responsible manner. Additionally, the quality of the data that feeds AI algorithms must be the top priority,” explains Shaw.
We are an international team of like-minded innovators in healthcare, operations and technology that simplifies and solves some of the most complex challenges facing the industry today.
Data governance ensures reliable AI
Data governance protocols are also an imperative, Shaw says, as they provide the structure, policies and procedures essential to managing data consistently and accurately, ensuring AI and GenAI models are trustworthy and reliable.
“The opportunity is huge for us to transform healthcare. We work with cutting-edge technology and have hired the very best people to do this. These are people who get our value system and our purpose. They know the power they have every day to make a difference. This is what drives us,” adds Shaw.
Leveraging global challenges for growth
The road travelled hasn’t been an easy one; he says that is what makes it worthwhile. “With almost three years of really positive impact and growth behind us, we are really happy with where we are. It was not easy, but we kept reminding ourselves of our purpose — about the need to constantly ‘think limitless.’
“Timing was a big factor, too. We launched our operations when COVID still had a vice-like grip on the country. If anything, COVID taught us a lot about our health and about the ability of technology to advance healthcare,” admits Shaw.
“But we had people who saw what we were trying to do and wanted to come on board. We have also had incredible support from the IDA at a national level and from the Limerick region, which really knows how to put its arm around an opportunity. There is a level of joined-up thinking across these that has also supported what we are trying to do,” he concludes. “It feels like the right time, right technology, right place.”
