In the healthcare industry, keeping up with rapidly changing technology is a necessity. Oftentimes, the evolution of technology and healthcare are linked to one another. Before the invention of the digital age, medical records needed to be stored on pen and paper and stored en masse in file rooms. Then, the computer and computer storage systems entirely revolutionized how patient data is found, stored, and managed. Now, technology’s next major leap comes in the form of artificial intelligence and has already affected how individuals and companies alike think of business operations. So, what role does AI have in the healthcare industry?
Traditionally, AI has seen some utilization as of 2024. However, the usage of AI agents is like a digital employee or chatbot, which is a massive under-utilization of technology. Instead of using it to handle troubled customers who need assistance, modern healthcare AI agents can handle much more. Because of this misapplication, over 60% of healthcare businesses tried AI but under 1% of all applications used by these businesses actually have AI. Rather than working in customer-facing roles, AI has seen major strides by helping employees work on the back-end.
But what would it actually take for provider groups and health systems to actually adopt AI technology? Over 80% of all healthcare staff believe an AI needs to reduce the amount of administrative burden they have and enable them to be more productive at their jobs. Alongside this, over 70% believe AI needs to be easy to use and access reliable and trustworthy data sources. Fortunately, some AI have already demonstrated some of this functionality.
For example, one of the most common questions in healthcare is ‘Do you have insurance?’ And, if they do, someone has to manually enter the system, get their proof of insurance, and input the details manually. However, this can be reduced to just a few seconds by leveraging the power of AI. By providing proof of insurance such as an ID card, referral order, or requisition forms, AI can extract the data and save it to the customer’s profile in the patient management system. Not only does this cut down the amount of time spent on menial tasks, but this makes the patient intake a much more pleasant experience.
Moreover, once a patient’s insurance information has been noted, AI can go a step farther. By accessing an insurance company’s portal or voice-calling a representative, they are able to verify a customer’s benefits and estimate the out-of-pocket cost for a visit. However, the skillset of AI is far more expansive.
Aside from patient intake, it is able to process the heftiest administrative tasks such as processing inbound referral requests. They can also catalogue inbound documents and process prescription refills. On the other hand, it is also able to submit prior authorization requests and verify the status of any requests it puts out. But the most important factor regarding AI is how efficiently it can do tasks, not just the tasks it can do.
Provider groups and health systems that deploy AI agents in healthcare see significant streamlining across the board. When it comes to processing referrals, for instance, the average time from reception to completion goes from 1 business day to under a minute. On average, the time saved from automatic document processing is over 50 hours per week. Financially, this means that existing expenses for a healthcare business are slashed between 40% and 70%. While slimming down on cost, the time saved with healthcare staff also has another effect. Giving employees more time in their shift means more productivity leads which can increase revenue by as much as 20%.
Putting aside the clear financial upsides, how else can AI benefit your healthcare business’s work environment? By giving time back to the employees, they can spend more time with patients rather than sitting alone in waiting rooms. This results in faster diagnoses and a better overall patient experience. Because of these overwhelming merits, as much as 71% of all healthcare workers believe agentic AI will be an integral part of healthcare in the next 5 years. So how can healthcare companies get their hands on this technology and stay ahead of the game?
Firstly, it’s important to pick the right AI for the job. Many of the popular AI are known as ‘public-facing’, which means that they can only access data from publicly available sources. While this is useful for individuals wanting a broad spectrum of information, this is simply unusable for companies who want it tailored to their business. Furthermore, public-facing AI are not HIPAA compliant and cannot access confidential patient data needed to carry out back-end requests.
Fortunately, AI healthcare agents make implementing an AI into your business easy. Furthermore, their AI was designed with healthcare businesses in mind, so there’s no need to worry about HIPAA compliance and the AI is meant to maximize the time spent caring for patients. Regardless of what discipline or what kind of patients your business treats, implementing an AI is the best way to streamline your business and get back to saving lives.
