AI in Healthcare: A Comprehensive Guide on How AI Can Revolutionize Patient Care
“Al has the potential to markedly improve productivity, efficiency, workflow, accuracy, and speed, both for physicians and for patients. What I’m most excited about is using the future to bring back the past—to restore the care in healthcare.”
The quote by noted cardiologist and author Dr. Eric Topol is a testament to the transformative role of AI in the healthcare industry.
Whether it’s automating manual and repetitive tasks, scheduling appointments to route the huge volume of incoming calls, or providing fast contact resolution to callers, AI can work like magic for healthcare providers.
At HoduSoft, we engineer AI-powered call and contact center software as well as an omnichannel CX suite, especially for healthcare organizations of various types and sizes.
By leveraging our sophisticated call and contact center solutions, many healthcare maintenance organizations (HMOs) and hospitals have succeeded in enhancing their operations.
In this blog post, we have discussed how beneficial AI is for the healthcare sector and the role it plays in transforming HMOs and taking their operations to new heights.
If you own a healthcare organization or you are a senior professional in one, then this blog post is just for you. So, without further ado let’s dive right into it and know the contribution of AI towards the healthcare sector. Read on and thank us later.
Challenges Healthcare Organizations Face Due to Poor Communication
The healthcare sector faces several challenges due to poor communication. Some of those are:
1. Risks to Patients’ Lives, Health, and Wellbeing
Would it surprise you to know that poor communication can endanger patients’ lives, health, and mental and psychological well-being? When healthcare organizations don’t take care of their communication systems, it can lead to medication errors, incorrect diagnoses, and inadequate treatment plans. That’s a sure-shot recipe for disaster!
2. Operational Inefficiencies
For healthcare organizations, communication plays an important role in determining operational efficiency. Poor communication in the healthcare sector can mean duplicated tests, delayed treatments, and inefficient use of resources. Over time, it results in increased costs and longer wait times.
3. Decreased Patient Satisfaction
Naturally, poor communication leads to patient dissatisfaction and frustration. When healthcare organizations fail to communicate clearly and pass on the necessary information, it will cause patients to feel frustrated and irritated.
4. Poor Care Coordination
In larger healthcare organizations, intra-department and inter-department coordination is extremely crucial. Inadequate communication and coordination between different departments or specialists can hinder coordination and affect patient outcomes. In the long run, it snowballs into dismal care transitions and impacts continuity of care.
5. High Stress for Healthcare Workers
Let’s compare two healthcare organizations. One can manage intra-department, inter-department, and communication between employees and customers effectively. The other struggles to do so. Which one is more likely to report high stress and dissatisfaction among its employees? The latter of course. Poor communication not only creates a stressful work environment but it can lead to burnout and decreased job satisfaction!
6. High Attrition
When employees and healthcare professionals feel burnt out, demotivated, and highly stressed out, they are much more likely to quit their jobs compared to their counterparts who are not stressed out. In the last few years, employee attrition has been a huge concern for organizations across the globe. And poor communication just increases the perils of high attrition.
7. Inaccurate Health Records
Many years back, former US President George W Bush said, “By computerizing health records, we can avoid dangerous medical mistakes, reduce costs, and improve care.” He was right. However, poor communication can result in errors in electronic health records. When healthcare organizations don’t communicate effectively, they are more likely to enter inaccurate data and information into digital records. And that amplifies the errors.
How Can AI Help in Overcoming Challenges in the Healthcare Sector?
AI can help address these challenges in the healthcare sector caused by poor communication in several ways:
1. Identifying Errors and Discrepancies
SpaceX founder and the world’s richest person, Elon Musk, once rightly said, “AI is capable of vastly more than almost anyone knows, and the rate of improvement is exponential.”
AI can easily identify unintentional misinformation, discrepancies, as well as potential errors by scanning all available structured and unstructured data sources to get a clear picture. By doing that, it can immediately alert healthcare providers before mistakes occur.
2. Improving Efficiency
Amazon’s founder and CEO, Jeff Bezos, rightly said, “AI tools will become our digital assistants, helping us navigate the complexities of the modern world. They will make our lives easier and more efficient.”
When healthcare organizations leverage AI tools to streamline and automate administrative tasks, they can enhance efficiency in leaps and bounds. By doing that, they can allocate staff, equipment, and resources more effectively.
3. Boosting Patient Satisfaction
“The impact of Al on the customer service function cannot be overstated.” The quote by Drew Kraus, VP Analyst at Gartner, is so true in the present time, especially in the context of customer satisfaction. In the healthcare sector, AI tools can take patient satisfaction to a new level!
When healthcare organizations leverage AI chatbots, they can provide patients with timely information. Customer service representatives take all calls in the right order, answer questions, and clarify instructions. AI tools also help healthcare organizations analyze patient feedback as well as identify communication gaps and improve service delivery.
4. Enhancing Care Coordination
“Collaboration and augmentation are the foundational principles of innovation.” The quote by Vaclav Smil resonates so deeply in the age of AI. When healthcare organizations invest in the right AI tools, they enhance coordination and collaboration.
AI-driven platforms can facilitate real-time communication among healthcare providers. By doing so, they ensure seamless information sharing across departments and specialties. AI tools can track patient transitions and alert providers when follow-up care is needed.
5. Reducing Stress for Healthcare Workers
As per Benjamin Bell, “Al will not replace doctors, but instead will augment them, enabling physicians to practice better medicine with greater accuracy and increased efficiency.”
AI can automate note-taking and documentation, allowing healthcare workers to focus more on patient care rather than paperwork. AI can offer decision-making support and reduce the cognitive load on healthcare professionals.
6. Improving Health Record Accuracy
Bibb Allen, MD, FACR, CMO of ACR Data Science Institute, once said, “While Al for imaging will not come all at once, early adopters of Al in their practices will be ready to be future leaders in health care.”
AI can facilitate better data sharing between systems, ensuring accurate and up-to-date health records. AI can detect inconsistencies or anomalies in health records, prompting reviews and corrections before they impact patient care.
7. Ensuring Regulatory Compliance
AI can analyze documentation practices and alert organizations to potential compliance issues, ensuring adherence to regulations.
AI can continuously monitor and validate electronic health records to identify inaccuracies or omissions.
Top 10 Best Healthcare Call Center Software for 2024
Stats Related to AI in Healthcare
Here are some statistics about artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare:
1. Market Size
As per a recent report, the global AI in the healthcare market, which was valued at USD 16.3 billion in 2022, is expected to reach USD 173.55 billion by 2029.
2. Growth Rate
According to data published by Binariks, the AI in healthcare market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 40.2 percent from 2022 to 2029.
3. Adoption
The adoption rate of AI tools is going to increase in the healthcare sector. As per Statista’s stat, about a fifth of healthcare organizations were in the early stages of using AI in 2021. A quarter were in the pilot stage. The number is expected to increase in the coming years.
4. Cost Savings
Radixweb published data that asserted AI could save healthcare costs by USD 13 billion by 2025 and USD 16 billion by reducing medication dosing errors.
5. AI Software
As per a report, the most common types of AI software in use in 2021 were healthcare data integration and natural language processing. When it comes to applications, AI can be used for a variety of applications such as medical imaging, drug discovery, and patient triaging.
Best Practices for Integrating AI with the Healthcare Sector's Communication Needs
Integrating AI into healthcare communication requires careful planning and execution. Here are some best practices to consider:
1. Assess Communication Needs
Before you make any decision to invest in AI tools in your healthcare call center, conduct a needs assessment first. Identify specific communication gaps and challenges within your organization. Determine what AI tools would be a perfect fit for your organization’s size, structure, and specific needs.
2. Set a Reasonable Budget
After assessing communication needs, it’s time to set a reasonable budget. By fixing a budget, you can make sure that you don’t pay more for AI-powered healthcare solutions than you should. It will also prevent you from investing in low-quality solutions.
3. Look for Reputed AI Solution Providers
After setting a budget, look for reputed and trustworthy AI solution providers. Use the internet to find software providers that have a credible track record of providing AI-based solutions to healthcare organizations. Visit a mix of websites belonging to software providers and aggregators such as G2 and SoftwareSuggest.
4. Request for Free Demos
After shortlisting some software providers, request free demos. A reliable and bonafide software provider would never shy away from providing free demo for a certain duration. As you use the demo version of the AI software, inspect every aspect of it starting from chatbots, NLP systems, as well as analytics and reports.
5. Ensure Integration with Existing Platforms
Ensure that the demo version of AI solutions can seamlessly integrate with customer relationship management (CRM) platforms, electronic health records (EHR), and other communication platforms.
6. Train Staff and Foster a Culture of Innovation
Offer comprehensive training programs to ensure your employees understand how to use AI technologies effectively. Create an environment where staff can provide feedback on AI tools.
7. Monitor Performance and Outcomes
One of the best things about AI is that it comes with advanced analytics and reporting features. So, after you start using the free demo, constantly evaluate the relevant metrics to determine communication efficiency, patient safety, and satisfaction.
All in All,
Whether it is streamlining administrative processes, personalizing patient interactions, and enhancing communication through chatbots and virtual health assistants, AI is transforming the way healthcare organizations deliver patient service.
All healthcare providers, irrespective of size and type, must embrace AI technologies. By investing in the right AI tools, healthcare organizations can enhance patient engagement, build trust, and pave the way for a more efficient and effective healthcare system.
At HoduSoft, we believe in empowering healthcare organizations with the right AI tools and technologies. We have a robust track record of designing and deploying tailored AI-powered omnichannel communication tools to various healthcare providers.
If you own a healthcare organization and you want to take your business to the next level, contact us to know how we can help you achieve your goal. If you are curious to know more about our AI solutions specially engineered for healthcare companies, book a free demo today.
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