Can AI reduce the number of visits patients make to emergency departments?

According to a recent Gartner study it can.  Speaking at a recent Gartner Symposium/ITExpo, analysts projected that by 2023, U.S. emergency department visits will be reduced by 20 million because of the enrollment of chronically ill patients in AI-enhanced virtual care.

“Clinician shortages, particularly in rural and some urban areas, are driving healthcare providers to look for new approaches to delivering care,” they noted. “In many cases, virtual care has shown it can offer care more conveniently and cost-effectively than conventional face-to-face care.  Gartner research shows that successful use of virtual care helps control costs, improves quality of delivery and improves access to care. Without change, the traditionally rigid physical care delivery methods will increasingly render healthcare providers noncompetitive. This transition will not come easily and will require modification of cultural attitudes and healthcare financial models.”

Not surprisingly, as AI becomes more widely used across the healthcare sector, organizations will need to focus more resources on ensuring they have the skills and infrastructure necessary to take advantage of emerging technologies.

In a statement accompanying the symposium, Daryl Plummer, vice president and Gartner Fellow, Distinguished, noted that  “the large majority of existing AI techniques talents are skilled at cooking a few ingredients, but very few are competent enough to master a few recipes, let alone invent new dishes. Through 2020, a large majority of AI projects will remain craftily prepared in artisan IT kitchens. The premises of a more systematic and effective production will come when organizations stop treating AI as an exotic cuisine and start focusing on business value first.”

On a related note, a JASON report commissioned by ONC and released late last year also stressed the importance of development of AI technology, noting that a standard needs to be set for AI to be truly successful in healthcare over the longterm.