• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

  • COVID-19
  • Opinion
  • Health IT
    • Behavioral Health
    • Care Coordination
    • EMR/EHR
    • Interoperability
    • Patient Engagement
    • Population Health Management
    • Revenue Cycle Management
    • Social Determinants of Health
  • Digital Health
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Blockchain
    • Mobile Health
    • Precision Medicine
    • Telehealth
    • Wearables
  • Startups
  • M&A
  • Value-based Care
    • Accountable Care (ACOs)
    • Medicare Advantage
  • Life Sciences
  • Research

Why AI’s Impact on Healthcare Will Be Far-Reaching Beyond Cost Savings

by Amit Shukla, Associate VP of Healthcare Consulting at Infosys 02/05/2018 Leave a Comment

Artificial Intelligence Applied AI AI in Healthcare AI Software Platform Artificial Inteligence in Healthcare

According to a recent report, the market for artificial intelligence in healthcare was worth over $600 million in 2014. By 2021, this figure is expected to rise by 11 times to $6.6 billion. Healthcare is widely regarded as one of the premier industries destined for AI-led transformation. The reasoning is simple: AI is widely prescribed as an antidote for healthcare’s high costs and an enabler for better health outcomes and experiences.

However, the industry has been slow to realize the significant cost and process efficiencies that digital and AI-led disruptions promise. However, it’s no surprise the sector is methodical in adopting new technologies due to complexities of intricate regulations and multiple ecosystem players. While this slow movement to modernization has been a reliable rule in the past, it does not mean the future will be just as sluggish.

Consumers are now demanding more from healthcare, especially as digitization sweeps across other industries. Demand for better pricing, transparency, and connected experiences across doctors, hospitals, pharmacies, and other supporting institutions, is growing.

Aetna, a US-based healthcare company, is an example of urgency around AI-led processes with its new chatbot, Ann. Ann provides round-the-clock assistance to new members using the company’s website. Its consumer-facing capabilities range from guiding new members through the registration process to helping users to recover usernames and passwords.

But Aetna isn’t the only healthcare provider to deploy such an interactive robot. Crédit Agricole, the French bank network, deploys its own chatbot named Marc. Like Aetna’s Ann, Marc responds to product queries in the company’s health insurance offerings and makes relevant suggestions to customers after analyzing their needs.

These two examples are just small examples of the potential for Robotic Process Automation (RPA) deployments and general AI in health technology. Such models help refine an organization’s focus on its customers, members and various participants, enabling them to navigate the healthcare ecosystem and realize the best possible care.

Choosing wisely, but acting quickly

Enthusiasm over RPA and AI has sparked an explosion of potential healthcare solutions. The number of available solutions is growing. While this sounds like a desirable position, it’s actually an overwhelming problem for healthcare organizations. They need to budget and provide technical support for RPA and AI initiatives, especially at the grassroots level, and ensure robust governance around them. Additionally, organizations must refine their ability to identify the processes best suited for automation and conduct pilots to demonstrate quick wins.

All this must take place before they can expand RPA and AI initiatives. A word of caution: automating broken processes can be inefficient and costly. Processes must be rationalized, optimized and simplified before attempting automation.

The good news is that unlike traditional IT projects, which run for several years, an RPA/Automation project lifecycle lasts for six to 10 weeks from ideation to implementation. This makes RPA ideal for launching an automation journey, as it establishes the foundation for more sophisticated AI deployment. 

Beyond simply cutting down costs

RPA and AI’s impact on healthcare will be far-reaching and expand well beyond their potential to save costs or reduce labor. By eliminating duplicate processes and automating patient support processes, RPA makes it simple for patients to discover healthcare services, enroll in those service and complete healthcare-related transactions faster, benefiting all stakeholders.

Being able to automate these processes also improves the quality of compliance because, with RPA, processes become fully documented, traceable and transparent. AI can ensure accuracy of provider data, helping healthcare companies avoid steep regulatory penalties imposed in the absence of accurate provider data. Such data can also inform and create personalized offerings to prospects with unique needs, or offer relevant additional products to existing patients.

Finally, AI can help hospitals, clinics and pharmacies take better care of their patients, especially in the realm of managing emotional or agitated callers. AI software solutions currently on the market today can analyze the speech of company associates during calls, offering guidance on when to soften their tone or slow their speech down in stressful situations. 

Enabling people to accomplish purposeful goals

Enticing providers to deliver a more human-centred design for healthcare by redeploying staff on work of a higher order, such as patient intimacy and patient care, is invaluable. Automating routine tasks in service operations can provide staff with an opportunity to engage patients in proactive, contextual and meaningful conversations, some of which can also be AI-enabled, and help patients improve their health or enjoy more healthy days.

An illustration might be useful here: if an AI system alerts an associate about a patient who has missed renewing a prescription for diabetes medication and provides a predictive insight in to the patient’s health disposition based on health history and related attributes, the healthcare associate can promptly arrange a review for the patient.

As in several other industries, AI in healthcare can complement the workforce and amplify its capabilities. Human capital in healthcare needs to be diverted to care at the intersection of caregivers and patients rather than being encumbered with low-value, back-office operations. AI-led automation and AI applications are the paths to achieving this opportunity. 

Amit Shukla is the Associate Vice President and Head of Healthcare Consulting at Infosys, a provider of technology, consulting and outsourcing services. 

Tagged With: Applied AI, Artificial Intelligence, Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare, Chatbot in Healthcare, healthcare analytics, Infosys, Machine Learning

Get in-depth healthcare technology analysis and commentary delivered straight to your email weekly

Reader Interactions

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe to HIT Consultant

Latest insightful articles delivered straight to your inbox weekly.

Submit a Tip or Pitch

Most Popular

Survey: Clinician Burnout Is A Public Health Crisis Demanding Urgent Action

17 Execs Share How Health IT Can Address Clinician Burnout, Staffing, & Capacity

Q/A: Dr. Johnson Talks Racial Disparities in Breast Cancer Care

Q/A: Dr. Johnson Talks Racial Disparities in Breast Cancer Care

Northwell Health Extends Contract with Allscripts Sunrise Platform Through 2027

Northwell to Deploy Epic Enterprise EHR Platform Across System

Sanofi Cuts Price of Lantus Insulin by 78% & Caps Out of Pocket Costs at $35 for All Patients

Sanofi Cuts Price of Lantus Insulin by 78% & Caps Out of Pocket Costs at $35 for All Patients

Pfizer Acquires Seagen for $43B to Tackle Cancer

Pfizer Acquires Seagen for $43B to Tackle Cancer

5 Key Trends Driving Purchasing Decisions in Healthcare IT

5 Key Trends Driving Purchasing Decisions in Healthcare IT

Sanofi to Acquire Diabetes Therapy Maker Provention Bio for $2.9B

Sanofi to Acquire Diabetes Therapy Maker Provention Bio for $2.9B

Dr. Arti Masturzo

Q/A: Dr. Masturzo Talks Addressing Food Insecurity with Patients

Transcarent Acquires 98point6 AI-Powered Virtual Care Platform and Care Business

Transcarent Acquires 98point6 AI-Powered Virtual Care Platform and Care Business

Eli Lilly Cuts Insulin Prices by 70%, Caps Patient Costs at $35 Per Month

Eli Lilly Cuts Insulin Prices by 70%, Caps Patient Costs at $35 Per Month

Secondary Sidebar

Footer

Company

  • About Us
  • Advertise with Us
  • Reprints and Permissions
  • 2023 Editorial Calendar
  • Submit An Op-Ed
  • Contact
  • Subscribe

Editorial Coverage

  • Opinion
  • Health IT
    • Care Coordination
    • EMR/EHR
    • Interoperability
    • Population Health Management
    • Revenue Cycle Management
  • Digital Health
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Blockchain Tech
    • Precision Medicine
    • Telehealth
    • Wearables
  • Startups
  • Value-Based Care
    • Accountable Care
    • Medicare Advantage

Connect

Subscribe to HIT Consultant Media

Latest insightful articles delivered straight to your inbox weekly

Copyright © 2023. HIT Consultant Media. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy |