The road to value-based care is long and winding. For many healthcare providers, the journey is anything but easy.
Value-based healthcare is a care delivery model that pays clinicians based on patient health outcomes. This is a monumental shift from traditional delivery models, which reimburse providers based on the amount of healthcare services they deliver.
Hospital leaders and clinicians have faced many obstacles as they navigate this transition. Federal regulations are constantly changing. Hospital strategy is evolving. The rollout of electronic medical records threw workflow out of whack. Meanwhile, clinicians must still improve care and provide a better patient experience.
Now, a new breed of technology may offer a detour.
Artificial intelligence could be hospitals’ fast pass to success in a value-based care model.
Value-based care will mend a broken system
Traditional reimbursement models paid physicians for every test, treatment, and service they provided. This fee-for-service model produced an unsustainable system that was costly and inefficient.
In 2015, CMS introduced an effort to transition to a system that rewards value of care instead of volume of services. The shift to value-based care has three key goals:
Providing high value care is also critical for handling rising patient volumes. According to the National Institute of Health, the rate of hospitalizations in the U.S. will increase by 67% by 2050. Meanwhile, many hospitals currently operate near 100% capacity.
As demand for inpatient services increases, hospitals need to improve efficiency and quality of care.
Technology is a key piece of this puzzle.
Artificial intelligence is a game changer. AI can improve clinical decision making and efficiency of care. It will enable hospital executives to make better use of prior technology investments. Most important, it will produce better patient outcomes.
AI will empower your clinicians and patients at every touchpoint
Forward-looking healthcare leaders have already found ways to apply AI in the healthcare setting.
With high-level adoption, AI can improve care delivery and the patient experience.
Here are three examples.
1. Advanced data analytics will support clinical decision making and save lives
Hospitals are already collecting massive volumes of information. Electronic monitoring devices, imaging systems, wearable sensors, and other digital tools output countless data.
But it is nearly impossible for clinicians to sift through these stores of data in a time-effective, meaningful way.
This is where AI can help. Advanced data analytics within AI systems can support clinical decision making and reduce physicians’ cognitive burden.
AI-enabled solutions can integrate real-time metrics with patient histories in the electronic medical record (EMR). This would allow physicians to:
Pay better attention to signals in the patient data to guide care decisions
Identify diagnoses and treatment options that more closely align with recommendations in medical literature
Better follow patient preferences
Deliver higher value care with greater efficiency
Support prevention efforts
Enterprise software powered by AI has the potential to improve care at every stage. But it is especially important for patients in critical condition.
When a patient is rapidly deteriorating, every second counts to identify the right course of action. AI-enabled solutions can deliver the most relevant medical information and treatment recommendations in the moment of need to guide care.
2. AI will boost operational efficiency by taking over routine clinical activities
AI can improve operational efficiency by assuming time-intensive responsibilities. In turn, physicians will have more time to focus on higher value tasks.
For example, monitoring patient vitals and adding the data into EMRs is important but tedious. AI-enabled tools could do this instead of caregivers.
Patient monitors powered by AI can streamline data from different sources and automatically enter them into the EMR with guaranteed accuracy. Insights based on this information can provide clear, actionable guidance to support care.
With less time spent performing routine tasks, clinicians have more time to spend interacting with patients.
Today, the numbers are dismal. According to a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, ambulatory physicians spend 50% of their work day entering data into EMRs, and just 27% of their day interacting with patients.
Physicians must increase the amount and quality of time they spend with patients. It’s critical for establishing trust and improving the overall patient experience.
3. Foster a greater patient experience through education and self-service
Hospitals can raise the patient experience by using AI in patient-facing technologies.
For instance, hospitals can use chatbots on their websites and apps. These bots can provide patients important information whenever they need it. With greater access to support, patients are empowered to improve self-care.
This could include:
Receiving information about their conditions and treatments
Alerts to remind them to take medication at the right times
Appointment reminders to keep patients on track and reduce no-show rates
Reminders to pay medical bills on time
Patients desire greater independence when it comes to their healthcare. With AI, they can receive personalized tips and reminders to help keep them healthy.
Ensure successful adoption of AI and thrive under value-based care
AI has the potential to revolutionize care and provide real value, but only if clinicians gain the know-how to use it at the optimal level.
Successful adoption of AI-enabled software requires a high degree of buy-in, effective training for users, and support from leadership. We learned this from the massive disruption brought by the introduction of EMRs.
With the help of a Digital Adoption Platform (DAP), usability on new dashboards is instantly simplified. A DAP provides contextual guidance and navigational cues to ensure users gain proficiency on new systems and learn how to use high-level features.
With a solid plan in place to ensure enterprise-wide adoption of AI, hospitals can take the next big step down the road to value-based care.
WalkMe pioneered the Digital Adoption Platform (DAP) for organizations to utilize the full potential of their digital assets. Using artificial intelligence, machine learning and contextual guidance, WalkMe adds a dynamic user interface layer to raise the digital literacy of all users.
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In 2015, CMS introduced an effort to transition to a system that rewards value of care instead of volume of services. The shift to value-based care has three key goals:
In 2015, CMS introduced an effort to transition to a system that rewards value of care instead of volume of services. The shift to value-based care has three key goals:
This is where AI can help. Advanced data analytics within AI systems can support clinical decision making and reduce physicians’ cognitive burden.
AI-enabled solutions can integrate real-time metrics with patient histories in the electronic medical record (EMR). This would allow physicians to:
For example, monitoring patient vitals and adding the data into EMRs is important but tedious. AI-enabled tools could do this instead of caregivers.
Patient monitors powered by AI can streamline data from different sources and automatically enter them into the EMR with guaranteed accuracy. Insights based on this information can provide clear, actionable guidance to support care.
With less time spent performing routine tasks, clinicians have more time to spend interacting with patients.
Today, the numbers are dismal. According to a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, ambulatory physicians spend 50% of their work day entering data into EMRs, and just 27% of their day interacting with patients.
Physicians must increase the amount and quality of time they spend with patients. It’s critical for establishing trust and improving the overall patient experience.
For instance, hospitals can use chatbots on their websites and apps. These bots can provide patients important information whenever they need it. With greater access to support, patients are empowered to improve self-care.
This could include: