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2026 Public Scholar Lecture
First, Do No Harm – on Average: The Ethics of Optimizing Health Care
Dr. Vishal Ahuja
Corrigan Research Professor and an Associate Professor of Information Technology and Operations Management at SMU Cox School of Business
Tuesday, October 20, 2026
12:00 - 1:15 PM
EY Gallery, Cox School of Business
David B. Miller Quadrangle
The Maguire Center for Ethics and Public Responsibility is proud to announce Dr. Vishal Ahuja, Corrigan Research Professor and an Associate Professor of Information Technology and Operations Management as the 2026 Public Scholar.
Register Now
Lecture Abstract:
“First, do no harm” is a guiding principle of medicine—but what does it mean when health systems make decisions for thousands of patients at once? Facing rising costs and limited resources, the healthcare industry is turning to algorithms and artificial intelligence to improve care. These tools can produce better outcomes on average, even when they don't improve outcomes for every patient.
Who pays the cost of what we learn? Who benefits when care is optimized? And what do we owe a patient who is harmed even when the algorithm works as intended?
Drawing on real challenges in healthcare operations, Dr. Vishal Ahuja invites us to consider the ethical questions behind technological decisions. As AI plays a larger role in care, can health systems pursue better results for many without overlooking the harm experienced by a few?
About Dr. Ahuja:
Vishal Ahuja is the Corrigan Research Professor and an Associate Professor of Information Technology and Operations Management at SMU Cox School of Business. He also serves as Adjunct Faculty at UTSouthwestern Medical Center and as Academic Director of the Cox School's healthcare initiative. His research develops decision-analytic tools that healthcare professionals and policymakers can implement easily to improve patient health, advance the quality of care, and enhance the efficiency of care delivery.
For his research, Vishal partners with organizations including the Department of Veterans Affairs (with which he holds a faculty affiliation), Parkland Hospital, Baylor Scott & White, Children's Hospital, and Texas Health Resources. His work has appeared in leading management and clinical journals. He has either won or been a finalist for several awards and honors including Pierskalla Award for the Best Paperin Healthcare Management Science, Innovation in Analytics Award, and Sanjay and Panna Mehrotra Research Excellence Award, which recognizes significant contributions to the practice of health applications. Most recently, he won the Dlin/Fischer Clinical Research Award from the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry for his research related to improving mental health outcomes of high-risk veterans.
Vishal's impact extends beyond academia, reaching regulators, practitioners, and the broader healthcare community. His research was cited by the FDA in its workshop on “Assessing the Public Health Impact of Prescription Drug Postmarketing Safety Labeling Changes,” where he was invited as an expert panelist. In 2025, he was named to the AI75 list recognizing the most innovative AI leaders across industries in Dallas–Fort Worth. He won the Outstanding Healthcare Innovator award by DCEOMagazine in 2023 and was a finalist for the Outstanding Healthcare Advocate award in 2020. Vishal regularly advises digital health startups and is frequently invited to speak at academic and industry conferences, universities, and hospitals, including Grand Rounds Talks. Vishal currently serves on the advisory board of TraumaCare, an AI-based software solution to improve clinical decision-making.
Vishal holds an MBA and a PhD in Business Administration from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. At Cox, he teaches MBA courses in operations management, supply chain management, and service operations. He draws on diverse corporate experience spanning several years in the chemical, manufacturing, and consumer goods industries to bring relevance to his research and teaching.
Any person who requires a reasonable accommodation on the basis of a disability in order to participate in this program should contact Associate Director Matt Nadler at mnadler@smu.edu. at least one week before the event to arrange for the accommodation.