Can AI and Digital Innovation Improve the Patient Experience?

Advancements in generative artificial intelligence (AI) are inspiring people across industries to rethink what is possible. The healthcare sector, which has remained consistent and even traditional in its practices for decades, has not been immune to this wave of change. By collaborating with healthcare providers and experts, tech developers can ensure that AI is used to enhance the capacity to diagnose diseases and reduce patient wait times. Through this partnership, AI’s potential to assist physicians in meaningfully improving healthcare is limitless. The COVID-19 pandemic produced strains on nearly every aspect of the healthcare industry, many of which still reverberate today. According to Bain and Company, “more than half of US hospitals ended 2022 with a negative margin, marking the most difficult financial year since the start of the pandemic.¹” As payers and providers alike search for methods to reduce costs, some offices are looking at the variety of ways in which generative AI can increase their productivity and improve cost efficiency. Already, clinics are using AI to enhance patients’ experiences by curating personalized website content tailored to individual patient needs, improving scheduling accessibility, and facilitating seamless communication between patients and physicians. For example, AI can even help predict the likelihood of a condition worsening, allowing healthcare teams to offer proactive solutions.² Cutting-edge automation and intelligence platforms are also being used to unify and systematize solutions for the common pitfalls providers face, reducing administrative burden and eliminating preventable insurance denials at scale. Such use of AI is designed to accelerate revenue growth by streamlining and modernizing legacy prior authorization processes, ultimately allowing providers to improve patient access and experience.

Furthermore, artificial intelligence can aid in medical diagnostics, treatment, and even observation. For example, AI-supported smart stethoscopes can be used by primary care providers to screen for diseases such as heart failure.³ While yet to be widely adopted, research has found that AI can also be used to correctly identify skin lesions.⁴ Even more, this technology has the power to observe patients remotely or analyze medical history, lab results, and other data points for patterns and irregularities undetectable to the human eye.

While AI offers numerous advantages for physicians, practices, and patients, it is crucial to acknowledge the reservations surrounding the adoption of these new technologies in healthcare. Concerns regarding the safety and ethics of implementing AI in healthcare practices warrant thoughtful consideration and discussion, and privacy and data protection remain paramount. I wholeheartedly believe that AI should always be used as a tool to aid physician care, not replace it. When coupled with a human provider’s expertise, these innovative tools can not only save time for patients, but for providers as well.

As healthcare leaders, it is our responsibility to be active participants in the AI revolution and usher in the next generation of innovation to our industry, ensuring a patient-centered approach that is always improving. By embracing AI and digital innovation, we can drive development in patient care, enhance the patient experience, and keep pace with the evolving expectations of modern consumers. Together as an industry, we must seize the opportunities AI presents to shape the future of healthcare.

1. Berger E, Dries M. Beyond hype: Getting the most out of generative AI in healthcare today. Bain and Company. ePub August 07, 2023. Accessed Sept 6, 2023. https://www.bain.com/insights/getting-the-most-out-of-generative-ai-in-healthcare

2. Sahni N, Stein G, Zemmel R, Cutler D. What happens when AI comes to healthcare? ePub May 11, 2023. Accessed Sept 6, 2023. https://cepr.org/voxeu/columns/what-happens-when-ai-comes-healthcare.

3. Bachtiger P, Petri CF, Scott FE, et al. Point-of-care screening for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction using artificial intelligence during ECG-enabled stethoscope examination in London, UK: a prospective, observational, multicentre study. Lancet Digital Health. 2022;4:e117–25.

4. Liopyris K, Gregoriou S, Dias J, et al. Artificial intelligence in dermatology: Challenges and perspectives. Dermatol Ther (Heidelb). 2022;12:2637–2651. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13555-022-00833-8