9 Practical Ways to Use AI in Healthcare
December 19, 2024
Artificial intelligence has shown up in applications across industries. When done well, healthcare AI can be used in several ways. Whether small assistive tasks or more complex applications, the common goals of incorporating AI in healthcare are to improve experiences, increase efficiency, and provide better outcomes. Here are a few practical ways to use AI in healthcare:
- Processing provider-patient matching.
- Assisting with screening.
- Evaluating diagnostics, imaging, and results.
- Speeding up clinical trials.
- Streamlining clinical documentation and patient communication processes.
- Enhancing patient monitoring and care.
- Improving supply chain management.
- Streamlining revenue cycle management.
- Enhancing facility security.
1. Processing Provider-Patient Matching
New patients making their first appointment or existing patients scheduling return appointments can involve a lot of administrative back and forth, even with the current scheduling and matching platforms available. When looping in different insurance plans, specialties, and more, good provider-patient matching can be a challenge and can take up valuable time that could be better spent with patients.
Incorporating AI to handle processing information and produce the best provider-patient matches for a situation can streamline this process and increase efficiency. Additionally, it can give staff back time that they can use to provide more personalized care that leads to better outcomes.
2. Assisting With Screening
Screening is another necessary, but potentially time-consuming, administrative task that artificial intelligence can assist with. Additionally, it can assist with identifying patterns, analyzing results, and more.
This is one of the automation ideas for healthcare facilities that alleviate some of the clinical paperwork side of things and allow staff to spend more time on meaningful interactions with patients. It can also allow clinicians and providers to further personalize and tailor their approach to an individual patient.
3. Evaluating Diagnostics, Imaging, and Results
Machine learning technology and multimodal AI models are capable of identifying patterns, abnormalities, and more. In the context of test results, diagnostics, and imaging, healthcare AI can help increase efficiencies.
Not only can good use of AI in these areas speed up the interpretation of complex images and data, but it can also allow for earlier disease detection. In addition, faster and enhanced processing paired with provider experience can help create tailored and personalized treatment plans and deliver better outcomes.
4. Speeding Up Clinical Trials
Using healthcare AI that has been trained on robust medical data can also have practical and positive effects on pharmaceuticals as well. One of the practical ways to use AI in healthcare is to identify current gaps and potential improvements in the context of drug discovery and design. It can also apply to processing data, predicting patterns and risks, and more for accurate and efficient clinical trials as well as quality control and drug manufacturing.
5. Streamlining Clinical Documentation and Patient Communication Processes
Clinical documentation and patient communications are necessary tasks, but can also split provider focus and take up valuable provider time and attention away from more meaningful interactions with patients. AI can automatically capture conversations and information to reduce the time a provider has to spend manually entering things into an EHR (electronic health record).
This allows a provider to keep their attention fully on the patient, focus on precision medicine, and have more time for personal, meaningful, and tailored interactions with their patients. Additionally, AI can assist with interactive and accessible communications from patient to provider with interactive voice response (IVR) technology and more, which can save time for both patients and providers for continued care.
6. Enhancing Patient Monitoring and Care
There are a lot of sensors and monitoring involved in in-patient care. Remote monitoring devices, nurse call systems, and more help improve patient care and staff efficiency. One of the practical ways to use AI in healthcare is to incorporate AI-powered remote patient monitoring devices and integrate them with your patient care, nurse call, etc. systems.
In doing so, patient vitals can be monitored in addition to other monitoring you have in place to provide a more detailed, clearer picture of a patient’s health. Not only can this help improve staff efficiency, but it can also allow providers to take even more preventative care measures to further improve patient care and deliver better outcomes.
7. Improving Supply Chain Management
One of the benefits of effective asset management in healthcare is managing inventory accurately and efficiently. AI can be used to improve inventory management and overall supply chain management. In addition to identifying current and upcoming sourcing needs, it can also provide recommendations based on outcomes, quality, cost, etc.
Not only does this assist in collecting and evaluating information on the best drugs and supplies for patient care, but providers can also use this as a resource to keep up with emerging treatments and as another source of information for creating individualized treatments while also making sure they have what they need in inventory and storage. This is also one of the ways to use RTLS to improve healthcare asset management.
Using intelligent security cameras to count and monitor objects paired with asset tracking for better inventory management is one of the many useful applications of AI in video surveillance that can benefit healthcare facilities.
8. Streamlining Revenue Cycle Management
Revenue cycle operators and other administrative staff that deal with claims, billings, etc. can benefit from incorporating AI platforms in their processes. Not only does this help reduce unnecessary correspondence with both payers and providers, but it can also increase the efficiency and quality of the claims processed, which can help reduce payment denials as well.
9. Enhancing Facility Security
Video surveillance, access control, nurse call systems, and more all contribute to healthcare facility security, patient safety, staff safety, and more. Overall security, maintenance and risk management, and more are already applications of video surveillance solutions.
When incorporating intelligent security cameras and AI in other systems, you can further integrate, customize, and enhance your facility security by ward, by floor, and more. These are all reasons to use video surveillance for your business and ways to make the most of it for your facility and operations.
Upgrade Your Facility Security With NEPPS
A Berkeley Research Group survey indicates that 75% of healthcare providers and professionals think AI will be “widespread” within the next three years. Integrating it where it makes sense for your facility and operations can keep you ahead of the curve. Taking on some of the administrative load, assisting with processing large amounts of information and data, and more are just a few practical ways to use AI in healthcare.
Integrated systems and technologies can elevate and enhance patient experience, satisfaction, and outcomes while also increasing efficiency, experience, and productivity for staff. When healthcare security systems and solutions are included, it can improve facility security overall. If you need to install new systems or upgrade the security of your facility, contact NEPPS at 1-800-736-1456.
