Denis Whelan on AI vs. Fax: Fixing Healthcare Workflows for Faster Care | Ep 1230

In this episode of The Digital Executive, host Brian Thomas welcomes Denis Whelan, CEO of Documo, an AI-forward healthcare SaaS company transforming how unstructured documents move through the healthcare system. With a career spanning multiple industries, Denis shares how his passion for solving “problems in broad daylight”—combined with a personal experience helping his father navigate outdated healthcare processes, led him to tackle one of healthcare’s biggest inefficiencies: document-driven administrative complexity.

Denis explains why, even in 2026, nearly 70% of healthcare communications still rely on fax and how this outdated system creates massive operational burdens. From overwhelmed administrative staff to delayed patient care, he outlines the real-world consequences of unstructured data and fragmented workflows. Documo’s mission is to bridge this gap by using AI to transform documents into actionable, structured workflows, helping healthcare organizations reduce manual effort, prioritize critical information, and ultimately improve patient outcomes.

The conversation also explores the challenge of innovating within strict regulatory environments. Denis emphasizes that compliance—especially HIPAA—is not an afterthought but a foundational principle, shaping how Documo builds, deploys, and scales its technology while maintaining rapid innovation.

Looking ahead, Denis shares an optimistic vision for the future of healthcare, describing today’s landscape as a “murky middle” of interoperability. Using a powerful analogy of pneumatic tubes, he explains how the industry is shifting focus from communication “pipes” to standardized “packages,” and ultimately to the “payload”—the workflows that drive real patient care. As AI continues to evolve, Denis believes the key to connected care lies in unlocking these workflows and centering every process around the patient.

This episode offers a compelling look at how AI can modernize healthcare infrastructure, reduce administrative friction, and pave the way for a more connected, efficient, and patient-focused future.

If you liked what you heard today, please leave us a review - Apple or Spotify. 

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.