Do We Need To Reset The Rules Of Oncology? with Dr. Johnetta Blakely
Wednesday, October 21, 2026
Transcript intelligence
What OpenRounds heard
Source-grounded signals extracted from the episode transcript. Timestamps and supporting excerpts appear when available.
The speaker reports that many oncologists do not understand the technical constraints of AI integration, assuming changes can be made simply like adjusting a user interface color, when in reality backend coding requires a coder to modify every step, creating a workflow barrier to AI adoption in clinical settings.
Oncology has made incredible progress, but the system delivering that care isn’t quite where it needs to be yet. Outdated workflows, unfair drug pricing policies, gaps in access to treatment, and the “death by a thousand clicks” are creating unnecessary challenges for both clinicians and patients. So what’s the fix? Dr. Johnetta Blakely is Chief Medical Officer of the Community Oncology Alliance and a practicing hematologist-oncologist at Tennessee Oncology. Having worked across community oncology, research, rural care, and healthcare policy, she brings a unique perspective on the challenges facing cancer care today. In this episode, we discuss what’s holding oncology back, where technology can help, and what needs to change to build a better system for patients and clinicians. We also explore Dr. Blakely’s journey with AI, and how she went from skeptic to one of its biggest advocates. Covered in this episode: How outdated workflows are making oncology harder than it needs to be. The growing administrative burden on clinicians. How Dr. Blakely went from AI skeptic to advocate. Why so many patients who could benefit from potentially curative treatments never receive them. What it will take to fix oncology and move cancer care forward? If you got value from this episode of Beyond the Chart, subscribe on your favorite podcast platform so you don’t miss the next one. LEARN MORE Tennessee Oncology - https://tnoncology.com/ (https://tnoncology.com/) DeepScribe - https://www.deepscribe.ai/ CONNECT Dr. Johnetta Blakely on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnetta-blakely-482a016/ Matthew Ko on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/komatthew/ LISTEN Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6IQlU4UeNKLLM4Y1lPTaOV?si=33679e9eb2294adf Apple Podcasts -https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/beyond-the-chart-exploring-the-ai-frontier-for-oncology/id1832485207 YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@deepscribeinc.5623
Show transcript excerpt
Oncology has made incredible progress, but the system delivering that care isn’t quite where it needs to be yet.Outdated workflows, unfair drug pricing policies, gaps in access to treatment, and the “death by a thousand clicks” are creating unnecessary challenges for both clinicians and patients.So what’s the fix?Dr. Johnetta Blakely is Chief Medical Officer of the Community Oncology Alliance and a practicing hematologist-oncologist at Tennessee Oncology. Having worked across community oncology, research, rural care, and healthcare policy, she brings a unique perspective on the challenges facing cancer care today.In this episode, we discuss what’s holding oncology back, where technology can help, and what needs to change to build a better system for patients and clinicians. We also explore Dr. Blakely’s journey with AI, and how she went from skeptic to one of its biggest advocates.Covered in this episode:How outdated workflows are making oncology harder than it needs to be.The growing administrative burden on clinicians.How Dr. Blakely went from AI skeptic to advocate.Why so many patients who could benefit from potentially curative treatments never receive them.What it will take to fix oncology and move cancer care forward?If you got value from this episode of Beyond the Chart, subscribe on your favorite podcast platform so you don’t miss the next one.LEARN MORETennessee Oncology - https://tnoncology.comDeepScribe - https://www.deepscribe.ai/CONNECTDr. Johnetta Blakely on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnetta-blakely-482a016/Matthew Ko on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/komatthew/LISTENSpotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6IQlU4UeNKLLM4Y1lPTaOV?si=33679e9eb2294adfApple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/beyond-the-chart-exploring-the-ai-frontier-for-oncology/id1832485207YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@deepscribeinc.5623
Daily healthcare AI brief
Get the free healthcare AI briefing
One concise briefing built from reporting, research, policy, blogs, videos, and full podcast transcripts.
Free. Get a sign-in link by email to finish subscribing. An account is created if needed. Unsubscribe anytime. Already subscribed? Sign in to save and personalize.