The book, launching on World Heart Day, Sept. 29, chronicles how Duffield used AI as a cognitive and emotional support layer through back-to-back open-heart surgeries at Cleveland Clinic, while making the case for where patient experience is heading.
-- John Duffield, AI innovation strategist and former SVP of Technology Experience at Omnicom Health, releases The Future Patient today: a first-person account of surviving two open-heart surgeries at the Cleveland Clinic twenty days apart in the summer of 2024, and of using artificial intelligence as a cognitive and emotional support layer throughout. The book launches on World Heart Day at an invitation-only event in New York City, with a foreword by Dr. Eric Roselli, Chief of Adult Cardiac Surgery at Cleveland Clinic, and an endorsement by Dr. Kathy Magliato, cardiothoracic surgeon and New York Times bestselling author of Heart Matters.
The Future Patient is part memoir, part examination of where healthcare is heading. Duffield traces his journey from diagnosis through two major surgeries and a grueling recovery, documenting in real situations how he used AI to understand diagnoses, formulate questions for his surgical team, explain what was happening to his children, and manage fear at 3 a.m., always alongside his clinicians, never in place of them. The book confronts a structural gap in how patients are cared for: of the 36 clinicians Duffield encountered during his treatment, 34 addressed his physical condition while only 2 addressed his mental and emotional state. That imbalance, he argues, is where AI can serve as a meaningful bridge. The book arrives as AI health use surges: according to KFF (May 2026), 29% of U.S. adults now use AI chatbots for health information on a monthly basis, nearly double the 2024 figure.
Dual perspectives: The book is told from both sides of the hospital bed. Duffield's wife, Janet, contributes her own account as his primary caregiver, offering a candid look at what the experience demanded of a family. The result is a dual narrative that speaks to patients and caregivers in equal measure. Forty-nine videos recorded during the hospital stay and recovery are embedded throughout the book via QR codes, giving readers direct access to the journey as it happened: from the ICU bed to the hospital rooftop.
What distinguishes The Future Patient from conventional patient memoirs is Duffield's professional vantage point. Having spent nearly a decade at the intersection of health marketing and technology, he entered the healthcare system as a patient who also understood how that system is designed and marketed. That unique perspective shapes every chapter, grounding the personal narrative in a broader analysis of patient experience, clinical communication, and the emerging role of AI in health. Duffield now runs The Future Patient, a platform for thought leadership and speaking on the future of patient experience.
The World Heart Day launch event features a conversation between John and Janet Duffield titled "Janet & John: Both Sides of the Story," a pre-recorded conversation with Dr. Eric Roselli, and a panel on the future of patient experience moderated by Steve Madden, Editor-at-Large at MM+M. The audience includes patients, caregivers, clinicians, and leaders from health, life sciences, advertising, and technology. The Future Patient is available at thefuturepatient.com.
About John Duffield
About John Duffield: John Duffield is an AI innovation strategist, keynote speaker, and patient survivor who has spent his career at the intersection of technology and human experience. He was SVP of Technology Experience at Omnicom Health for nearly a decade and now advises health and hospitality organizations on AI. Born in England and raised in Melbourne, Australia, he lives in Connecticut. The Future Patient is his first book. Learn more at thefuturepatient.com.
Media contact
Press Contact: John Duffield john@thejohnduffield.com 310-866-7856
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Website: https://thefuturepatient.com/
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