In this episode of The HealthCast, host Phil Zappone sits down with the team behind Silo Med, a platform creating AI-powered patient simulations for medical education.
Dr.
Richard Selinfreund, Andrew Primous, and Elijah Meldrim explain how clinical expertise, storytelling, software engineering, and generative AI come together to create realistic virtual patients that medical students and residents can interview, diagnose, and learn from in a safe environment.
The idea began with a failed attempt to build a traditional medical video game. The team quickly discovered that preprogrammed simulations could not anticipate every question, decision, or mistake a learner might make. The emergence of generative AI changed that by allowing virtual patients to respond dynamically and adapt to each conversation.
The result is a training platform designed to identify both knowledge gaps and behavioral gaps before learners begin treating real patients.
The team explains why medical education should evaluate more than whether a learner reaches the correct diagnosis. Strong clinicians must also build trust, recognize when patients are withholding information, respond to emotional concerns, and maintain the human relationship at the center of care.
Phil and the Silo Med team also discuss accessibility, real-time scoring, responsible AI, accreditation, global medical education, veterinary applications, and the challenges of earning trust in a crowded AI market.

Episode Chapters
00:47 – Meet the Silo Med team
01:42 – What Silo Med does
02:27 – How clinicians traditionally learned
03:00 – The failed video game that led to an AI breakthrough
04:36 – Building the first virtual patient
05:33 – Expanding simulations across medical specialties
05:58 – How storytelling brings virtual patients to life
08:13 – Real-time scoring and software development
09:48 – Why Silo Med has not moved into virtual reality
10:23 – Turning an academic project into a business
11:37 – Expanding access to medical education globally
12:43 – Why simulated patients should mislead or withhold information
14:58 – Designing a patient’s backstory and emotional state
15:39 – Silo Med’s mission and the team’s individual purpose
18:18 – Measuring knowledge and behavioral gaps
20:07 – Teaching empathy during difficult diagnoses
21:04 – The responsible use of AI
21:59 – Building trust with medical institutions
23:06 – Early exploration of veterinary medicine
24:42 – Validation and the future of accreditation exams
26:18 – Integrating simulations into medical curricula
27:08 – How Silo Med defines success
28:07 – Funding and adoption barriers
28:48 – Letting the technology speak for itself
29:10 – Where to learn more about Silo Med

Episode Resources:
Website | https://silomed.ai/
LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/company/silomed/
Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/silomedai/
Email | [email protected]

Check out what I do helping small businesses here:
Website | https://nxaihealth.com/
LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/phil-zappone-647957379/

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