Few sectors of the economy have avoided taking a serious hit during the COVID-19 pandemic, but few were likely impacted as significantly as the healthcare sector.
According to one tech observer, however, AI may be what helps healthcare regain its footing more quickly than expected, while also driving an array of transformative improvements.
In a recent commentary, Michael Byczkowski, Global Vice President, Head of Healthcare Industry at SAP, asked and answered eight questions he believes healthcare organizations will face in the pandemic’s wake.
For example, the pandemic has been an undoubtedly costly struggle, devastating many providers and payors, but Byczkowski believes AI’s capacity “to examine processes for waste and duplication” will help drive greater efficiency and enable stakeholders to recover revenue by finding “money that’s already in the system.”
The pandemic also caught many healthcare stakeholders flat-footed when it came to supplies, Byczkowski notes, but he thinks moving forward “ AI will enable providers and government entities to recognize the potential for shortages much earlier based on behavior and economic activities so they can plan better. It will also help manufacturing organizations anticipate needs more effectively so they can prepare to fill demand sooner. While no one can predict when and how a pandemic will occur, they can certainly recognize we are on the path to one earlier and take steps to mitigate its worst effects on the supply chain – including ensuring adequate supplies of the raw materials needed to product PPE, medications, and other necessities.”
Patient care will also get a much needed boost from AI, as providers still spend too much “of their valuable time looking for and through data, images, laboratory reports, etc. to discover what is relevant. In the future, AI will be able to predict what information physicians are most likely to need for each appointment. That information can then be brought to the top so it is immediately available. The physician can then spend more time talking to the patient, understanding her/his current situation and delivering truly personalized care.”
Not surprisingly, Byczkowski believes one consequence of the pandemic is going to be healthcare organizations and government agencies re-thinking their approaches to sharing data.
“Up until now, there has been token discussion about opening up data sharing, but not a lot of movement,” he says. “The pandemic has forced healthcare organizations to collaborate and they’re seeing the value of it.”
Where AI can help, he says, is by managing data exchanges to help ensure the efficient allocation of necessary data while also protecting data privacy.
The bottom line, he believes, is that AI will play a critical role in helping restore order to a healthcare system hard-hit by the events of the past year, and critically important to being prepared for the next time something similar happens again.
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