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Artificial Intelligence (AI) advances are big news, but the daily onslaught of AI applications in health care is overwhelming. There’s no question that health care is fertile ground for AI. Health care is expensive, highly technical, complicated, and equally frustrating for patients and providers alike. It’s also rich in data—a mostly untapped resource for both clinical and performance improvement. These factors make health care a perfect environment for AI, which can lead to potentially better and faster treatment for patients. And, there’s lots of money in the system.
Health care is also struggling with a worsening physician and staffing shortage. It threatens to become a crisis. AI has a solution for that, too, by filling roles previously occupied by humans. But can AI really substitute for physicians and other providers?
As your ACO navigates its path to Value, you will undoubtedly begin to consider AI and how it might benefit your organization. But be careful and smart. AI is pushing the envelope on health care roles, patient services, and data security. It’s showing up, unexpectedly, everywhere. Before you leap into AI applications, you need to understand not only the potential benefits, but also the short- and long-term consequences—for better and worse.