Data-Driven EHRs and AI for an Interoperable Digital Health Ecosystem

An interview with Romel Khalife, Country Manager – UAE and Kuwait, Oracle Health & Life Sciences, conducted by Peter Birch during WHX Dubai 2026, about the evolution and future of Electronic Health Records (EHRs).

The podcast highlights how EHRs had transformed from being mere compliance tools into strategic assets for improving healthcare, enabling population health, and supporting research. Romel discussed the primary challenges in healthcare, such as clinician burnout and data silos, and outlined the necessary components for a modern EHR, including clean data, clinician-centric workflows, and interoperability.

In addition, the conversation covered the critical role of a robust cloud infrastructure in enabling scalable and native AI solutions, the importance of governance in deploying new technologies, and the need for collaboration within the healthcare ecosystem. Romel concluded by advising healthcare leaders to adopt an agile, user-centric, and iterative approach to innovation.

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Episode transcript:

Peter Birch (00:07):

Welcome to WHX Insights. My name is Peter Birch. Today, I'm joined by Romel Khalife, country manager for UAE in Kuwait. Romel, so great to have you here on the show today.

Romel Khalife (00:17):

Good afternoon, Pete. The pleasure is mine. Thank you for hosting me.

Peter Birch (00:21):

It's great to have you here and talk about electronic health records, EHRs. It's a well-known tool, an acronym within healthcare. But over the years, I think there's been a fair bit of evolution and the landscape has changed. Perhaps you could set the scene for us. Tell us a bit about EHRs, what they are maybe, but where they've come from and where we are today.

Romel Khalife (00:42):