SAS Innovate: Turning Messy Data Into Meaningful Decisions With AI In Healthcare

Can faster access to real-world data actually change patient outcomes, or are we still too reliant on controlled clinical trials to see the full picture?

In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Alex Asiimwe, Executive Director of Epidemiology at Gilead Sciences, to explore a topic that doesn’t get enough attention in the AI conversation, real-world evidence.

While much of the industry focuses on AI in drug discovery or diagnostics, Alex brings a different perspective, one rooted in what happens after treatments reach real patients in the real world. As he explains, clinical trials may be the gold standard, but they are still controlled environments. Real-world evidence is where we begin to understand how treatments perform across diverse populations, healthcare systems, and everyday conditions.

What stood out in our conversation is just how messy and fragmented that real-world data can be. Much of it is not collected for research purposes, which means it takes months, sometimes up to a year, to clean, structure, and analyze before it can inform decisions. Alex shares how AI is beginning to change that, not by replacing human expertise, but by automating the most time-consuming parts of the process. If that timeline can be cut in half, the impact is immediate.

Faster evidence means faster decisions, and in healthcare, delays in evidence can directly affect patient outcomes.

We also explore what Alex describes as the “analytics gap,” the disconnect between where data exists and where insights are actually generated. Today, much of the evidence used in drug development still comes from limited datasets, often from a single country or region. Yet the treatments themselves are global. That mismatch creates blind spots, particularly in low and middle-income countries where data is often unstructured, fragmented, or simply not accessible. AI has the potential to standardize and unlock that data, helping to create a more complete and representative view of patient populations worldwide.

Of course, the challenges are not just technical. Trust, governance, and politics all play a role in whether data can be shared and used effectively. Alex is clear that the biggest barrier is not the science or the analytics, it is building trust between organizations, governments, and communities. Without that, even the most advanced AI models cannot deliver meaningful outcomes.

This conversation also touches on the importance of collaboration, not just between healthcare organizations and technology providers like SAS, but across the global ecosystem. Alex highlights how partnerships, open standards, and shared frameworks can help close the analytics gap and accelerate progress in areas like HIV prevention, where understanding real-world patient behavior is critical.

As we wrap up, one message comes through clearly. AI is not a miracle solution, and it will not transform healthcare overnight. But when applied to the right parts of the workflow, especially around data preparation and evidence generation, it can create measurable, meaningful change.

So as healthcare leaders look to move beyond pilots and into real impact, the question becomes, are we focusing on the right problems, and are we ready to open up the data needed to solve them? 

Useful Links

• Connect with Dr. Alex Asiimwe
• OHDSI – Observational Health Data Sciences and Informatics

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