AI reshapes healthcare education and delivery
Speakers from the Mapúa University School of Medicine, in collaboration with Arizona State University (ASU), highlighted the transformative role of AI (artificial intelligence) and sustainability in advancing and achieving better healthcare during the recent TEDxMakati event held at the university’s Cardinal Cinema.
The event, with the theme “THRIVE,” challenged the “hustle culture” narrative and explored revolutionary ideas on how to lead, adapt, and flourish while staying energized. It brought together experts and speakers to decode sustainable success in work, life, and society.
Dr. Malaya Santos, founding Dean of Mapúa University School of Medicine and a fellow of the Philippine Dermatological Society, shared during TEDxMakati how AI can help achieve the key democratic goal of healthcare workers and the World Health Organization (WHO): ensuring more people have access to quality health services and reducing health inequities.
A long-time advocate for primary health care, community empowerment, and health systems science, Dr. Santos stated that the world is facing a healthcare crisis and many Filipinos lack financial safeguards, resulting in poorer health outcomes and preventable deaths.
“Poverty drives health inequity. As 21st-century educators, our job is to teach medicine as the art of caring for the sick while advocating for basic rights and stronger health systems. It’s a huge task, and we need powerful tools. But artificial intelligence is already changing the game in ways previously unimaginable. With AI-powered virtual patients, augmented reality, customized podcasts, and other personalized learning experiences, the old, one-size-fits-all curriculum is becoming a thing of the past,” Dr. Santos said, highlighting AI’s relevance for modern education and healthcare.
“Our students love it because it keeps them active and engaged. Precision education, predictive analytics, adaptive learning—they sound like big words, but they allow us to tailor strategies to individual needs and strengths,” she added.
“Most importantly, the future shouldn’t be about choosing to be AI. It’s about capacitating people to use AI. If AI can bridge workforce gaps, improve access, and help solve the world’s most pressing healthcare problems, we must use it for the greater good,” Dr. Santos declared, emphasizing collaboration between healthcare workers, data scientists, and AI experts to design human-centric systems.
Planetary health as a key to thriving communities
TEDxMakati also featured Dr. Jake Bryan Cortez, a board-certified Family and Community Medicine physician and Head of the Medical Education Unit at Mapúa University School of Medicine, who advocated for planetary health, highlighting its connection to human health.
“Nearly one out of every four deaths today is linked to unhealthy environments. When streets flood, children develop diarrheal diseases. Heatwaves can cause elderly people to collapse, and failing food systems leave us hungry,” Dr. Cortez explained.
“To be healthy in the 21st century is no longer just personal—it is planetary. Planetary health is based on one simple truth: healthy planet, healthy people. Our health is shaped by the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the climate we all live in,” he continued.
As a family and community physician, Dr. Cortez observes firsthand how environmental degradation leads to worsening health outcomes, including the spread of dengue beyond tropical regions and increased respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses due to pollution.
“These are wake-up calls that environmental degradation is not just ecological—it is a public health emergency,” Dr. Cortez said, urging doctors to expand the circle of care and advocate for sustainable healthcare practices.
He recommended small yet impactful actions: prescribing clean air and exercise, educating patients about climate change, making clinics more sustainable, and using collective voices as trusted leaders to push for change.
“This task is not just for health professionals. Everyday choices matter. Choose local, plant-based foods. Walk, bike, or take public transport. Support renewable energy. Reduce single-use plastics. And teach children to care for nature. Whether you are a health professional, policymaker, business leader, educator, student, or parent, we all have a role,” he said.
“The choices we make today will shape the health of future generations. If we truly want to thrive, we must heal both people and planet together,” Dr. Cortez concluded.
Empowering students and communities through innovation
Through TEDxMakati, Mapúa University School of Medicine, in collaboration with ASU, continues to empower students and the community with innovative approaches that broaden perspectives locally and globally.
To learn more about the university’s approach to student learning and world-class patient care, visit:
https://www.mapua.edu.ph/pages/academics/school-of-medicine-in-collaboration-with-arizona-state-university
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