With this in mind, it may be advantageous to medical entities, such as hospitals and health systems, to investigate ways in which AI can be used to enhance care efficiency and overall profitability. In other words, it’s time to create an AI action plan. And just in time to help with this endeavor comes the American Hospitals Association (AHA), which has recently provided a few suggestions. According to the AHA, AI “has the potential to transform every aspect of healthcare delivery from the simplest administrative task to the most complex clinical procedures.” They go on to suggest that healthcare executives should create an AI road map for setting strategic priorities for “value creation and return on investment.”
To this end, the AHA has released a report, which acts as an AI playbook for allocating resources that prioritize “patient access, revenue cycle management and operational throughput.” The report (entitled “Building and Implementing an Artificial Intelligence Action Plan for Health Care”) provides many helpful insights, to include:
- Top AI clinical applications
- Level of expertise required for deployment
- Timeline for expected ROI impact
The report also provides real-world case studies arising from several prominent hospitals and health systems. Leaders from Atrium Health, HCA Healthcare, Cleveland Clinic, Mayo Clinic and others share how they are deploying AI today and the lessons they’ve learned. Cool!
When it comes to the specific areas of AI deployment within the healthcare context, a national survey found that hospital executives talked in terms of using the technology to the following extent:
- Clinical Care – 18 percent
- Ambient Speech Recognition – 12 percent
- Decision Support – 12 percent
- Communication – nine percent
- Predictive Models – nine percent
The AHA report identified four major ways in which AI can be successfully utilized within the healthcare context. Examples of these are outlined in the following.
Administrative | Improve claims denial prevention.
Although this application requires a high level of expertise to deploy when implemented successfully, users will be able to better predict which claims are likely to be denied based on diagnosis, treatment and insurance plan. Providers also will be able to identify inconsistencies, missing codes and duplicate entries.
Clinical | Optimize operating room and procedure time.
AI-driven algorithms for scheduling, predicting case duration, streamlining resource allocation and in pre-operative medicine can help redefine OR efficiency and patient care. AI-powered OR management solutions can improve resource allocation, patient outcomes and staff satisfaction. Results hospitals can expect include improvement in predicting case duration and cancellation, optimizing post-anesthesia care unit resources and improved patient outcomes.
Operational | Leverage supply chain data to enhance cost management.
This application also requires a high level of expertise. However, within a year or less, providers will be able to capture true case costs, provide accurate cost-variance analysis, as well as procedure and inventory demand intelligence. They will also be able to identify which supplies are on the expensive side and which supplies have been recalled or expired.
Patient Access | Streamline discharge planning.
Although it may take a year or more before achieving ROI impact, this AI application will allow your organization to generate discharge summaries, translate medical information into a patient-friendly format, predict length of stay and identify readmission risks.
The full AHA report lists other areas wherein AI can prove beneficial, such as cybersecurity, planning and management, as well as treatment plans and reducing medical errors. Readers can download the full report by going to the following link: Building and Implementing an Artificial Intelligence Action Plan for Health Care | AHA.