Artificial intelligence and generative AI is shifting healthcare delivery and elevating what is possible within the industry. C-suite executive teams are testing AI on a large and small scale.
As healthcare costs increase and hospitals face thin margins, AI can support systems in a variety of ways. Hospitals and clinicians are examining how to leverage AI for support in administrative and clinical functions while back office teams are becoming more efficient and accurate with AI, allowing teams to work at the top of their abilities.
"The cost of care in the United States is simply too expensive and too inefficient," said David Krajewski, executive vice president and CFO of LifeBridge Health in Baltimore. "Length-of-stay is too long and the burden of clinical documentation and revenue cycle denials only compound these issues. AI offers the potential to – accurately – highly compress some of these activities while simultaneously easing the burden on care teams and back-office staff. Overall, we’re still a ways off from realizing significant benefits but early signs show real promise."
Most health systems are very much in the early stages of testing and developing a strategy around AI, and executive teams understand the gravity of its potential.
"We are early in our journey of investigating automation through AI and large-scale analytics," said Kevin Smith, CFO of SSM Health in St. Louis. "Our goal is to use large structured and unstructured data sets for predictive analytics and better decision-making. This will lead to better automation, ultimately enhancing clinical outcomes and reducing costs."
Clinical applications are top of mind for executive teams as well.
"AI will enhance predictive analytics, enabling early diagnosis and personalized treatments, while gen AI will accelerate drug development and disease modeling," said Sunil Dadlani, executive vice president and chief information and digital transformation officer of Atlantic Health System in Morristown, N.J. "Telemedicine and remote monitoring will expand with real-time AI-driven data analysis. Integrated digital health platforms and patient-centric apps will empower individuals to manage their health."
Rod Neill, COO of Bon Secours Mercy Health Medical Group in Cincinnati, is applying similar technologies with his teams.
"We are actively instituting AI ambient clinical intelligence tools within our medical group for the purposes of accurately and efficiently documenting encounters between physician and patient," said Mr. Neill. "We are about two-months into a 100 provider pilot and the results have been extremely positive."
Rural healthcare can benefit from AI as well. The technology could bridge some of the traditional gaps between urban and rural healthcare settings, expanding access to specialist expertise and overall care.
"As with most people in the industry, I'm closely monitoring all things AI, but my interest focuses primarily on how this could change the landscape or rural healthcare while furthering health equity," said Lisa Carter, southern regional president of Ballad Health in Johnson City, Tenn. "I am also interested in seeing how AI might close specific access gaps. In addition, I am looking at trends affecting the overall delivery models for care and how the next generation of healthcare consumers and workers will impact how we provide services."
The excitement around AI is tampered by clear risks, including inherent biases, high price tags and misuse. Executive teams are becoming savvier about what applications will be meaningful for their organizations and eliminating the hype.
"There is enormous potential for AI and we are using it in a variety of ways at Cone Health," said Vi-Anne Antrum, senior vice president and chief nursing officer of Cone Health in Greensboro, N.C. "I am also cognizant of the need to mitigate bias and inaccuracies in the data ingested to any given platform. It highlights the need for broader research across populations and demographics of people than what exists today. I believe academic institutions and partners could help drive some of the research towards these aims that integrate health equity. Beyond that, AI has become the new 'buzzword' and there are varying levels of credible offerings in the marketplace."