Better use of data and improved technology will boost clinical workflows and move more care to the home by 2035, the American Hospital Association reported Aug. 13.
The AHA cited the recent Designing for 2035 analysis from management consultant Oliver Wyman. Here are eight predictions from the report on what will change about hospital and health system IT in the next decade-plus:
1. Artificial intelligence bots will provide patients with improved access to their benefits and better match them with providers.
2. Enhanced data integration in clinical workflows will ease provider burnout from currently cumbersome technology tools.
3. RPM will stand for remote patient "management," not just monitoring, and will include more health data from more compact smart devices that will be processed quicker via advanced computing power.
4. Technology will better identify and match clinical trial participants beyond just academic medical centers.
5. Labor productivity will be enhanced by ChatGPT-like solutions, creating more back office and administrative efficiencies.
6. AI will automate more repetitive tasks for providers, including prior authorizations, care planning, consultations triggered by assessments, and robotic medication administration.
7. More patients will be treated virtually, including for complex conditions, with an increase in devices that allow patients to conduct physical exams themselves, supervised by virtual physicians, with the data being sent to the care team in real time.
8. The Internet of Things will enable better at-home care, with quicker connection to providers through video, phone, email and text, and real-time data uploads, increasing the use of hospital-at-home care.