Tiny voices, big complexity: Children’s hospitals find AI that gets the stakes from day one (22 July 2025)

Summary

As health systems implement ambient AI for clinical documentation at an accelerating pace, one group long used to waiting its turn is actually being prioritised.

Children’s hospitals make up just 1 in 20 nationally but deliver a disproportionate share of complex care. Encounters are often lively, layered and nonlinear. Clinicians must diagnose patients who may not have the words to describe symptoms, all while working to communicate with parents who are juggling the audible needs of siblings in the room. Healthcare technologies designed for use in adult care often struggle to keep up. 

Shakeeb Akhter has worked across both adult and paediatric care settings. Now, as Chief Digital and Information Officer of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), he distills the difference into a five-word adage: Children are not little adults. “But the technology industry has historically treated it that way,” he said, noting the large portion of healthcare AI built for adults that people expect to fit pediatric needs. 

The verdict? “It just doesn’t,” Mr. Akhter said.

A turning point may be underway. Becker’s spoke with clinical and innovation leaders at eight leading U.S. children’s hospitals — Akron Children’s, Boston Children’s Hospital, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Children’s Hospital Colorado, Dayton Children’s, Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Seattle Children’s and UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh — to understand what happens when care teams are provided with ambient AI technology that meets paediatric care where it is.