Executives at Optum, an Eden Prairie, Minnesota-based information and technology-enabled health services firm, on Oct. 27 released a new report finding optimism among healthcare executives around the adoption and leveraging of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare operations. The “3rd Annual Optum Survey on AI in Health Care” was based on a survey of healthcare leaders nationwide.
As a press release to Optum’s corporate website on Oct. 27 reported, “Health care executives today believe artificial intelligence (AI) will deliver value for the industry faster than previously thought, according to a new survey of 500 senior health care executives representing leading hospitals, health plans, life sciences and employers.” Indeed, “The third annual Optum Survey on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Health Care found that 59 percent of executives surveyed expect their organizations will see a full return on their AI investments in under three years, nearly double the 31 percent of leaders surveyed in 2018 who expected to break even that quickly.”
Indeed, “Further, health care executives’ confidence in AI’s ability to deliver operational efficiencies or improved clinical performance increases as their organizations progress on the maturity curve: among the respondents who identified as being in the late stages of AI deployment, 57% indicated they would reach their ROI in less than two years. Expectations for faster return on AI investments grew even among those in earlier stages of deployment, indicating growing confidence in the technology,” the press release noted. “In addition, leaders across industry segments expect to see tangible cost savings from their AI investments faster – an average of 3.6 years in this year’s survey, down from 4.7 years in 2019 and 5.3 years in 2018.”
“This year’s findings further confirm our belief in the potential of AI to deliver insights and operational efficiencies that unlock better performance across health care,” said Robert Musslewhite, chief executive officer of OptumInsight, in a statement contained in the press release. “It is encouraging to see so many organizations express confidence in AI’s ability to facilitate the pursuit of our industry’s shared goals: better health outcomes, better consumer experiences, and less physician burnout—all at a lower total cost of care.”
Among the top-line survey results providing the data for the report:
Ø In terms of confirming AI’s strategic value, 95 percent of healthcare executives aid hiring talent with experience developing AI is a priority
Ø With regard to that value, 66 percent of executives in later stages of AI deployment strongly agreed on AI’s strategic value, while 42 percent of those in early stages and 31 in middle stages, agreed.
Ø In terms of staffing, 92 percent of those surveyed expect their staff who receive AI-driven insights will understand how the artificial intelligence works.
In a statement included in the press release, Steve Griffiths chief operating officer of Optum Enterprise Analytics, said, “The need for skilled analytic talent in health care has never been greater. The growing strategic importance of AI means that organizations need to ensure access to this skillset, either by growing their own analytic teams or seeking out experienced partners.”
Meanwhile, the top three applications that healthcare executives plan to leverage AI for, are:
Ø Monitoring data from Internet of Things devices, such as wearable technology (40 percent);
Ø Accelerating research for new therapeutic or clinical discoveries (37 percent); and
Ø Assigning codes for accurate diagnosis and reimbursement (37 percent).
All three applications pose advantages in the current and post-COVID-19 world: AI can identify signals and trends from internet-connected remote patient monitoring devices, enabling more complete virtual health offerings; AI can help prioritize potential investigative targets for treatments or vaccines; and automating business processes can enable organizations to operate efficiently even with limited resources.
Among the other key findings in the report:
Ø Fifty-six percent of healthcare executives reported that their organizations accelerated their AI plans in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ø Confidence in seeing a return on investment grows as organizations more fully implement their AI strategy: 57 percent of organizations in late-stage deployment believe they’ll see savings in as soon as two years.
Ø Healthcare executives report an AI strategy striving or consumer-centric outcomes: over half of executives rank improving health outcomes (55 percent) or patient experiences (55 percent) as the greatest impact of their investment in AI.
Ø Fifty-six percent of healthcare executives believe AI deployment will create jobs, not destroy them, including 76 percent of those in the late stages of AI deployment.
Ø While the benefits of AI are clear, most of the healthcare industry still sees itself as behind the curve, as only 20 percent are in the late stages of deployment.
Ø Healthcare organizations are prioritizing AI experience and knowledge, as 92 percent of executives expect that members of their staff who see AI-driven insights should have some understanding of how it works—including over a third (34 percent) who expect that their staff will have a full understanding.
Ø As for the specific AI skills they seek in employees, healthcare executives are split: 51 percent are interested in hiring employees who can develop AI, whereas 49 percent are interested in employees who can apply the results.
