Roundup: New tools aim to give doctors what they need with AI
Artificial intelligence and machine learning have been strengthening and improving healthcare processes for years. But the advent of generative AI and the refinement of predictive models have ushered in a new era in which technology improves iteratively through first-line feedback from users. Several recent product announcements demonstrate this trend.
Improve the efficiency of prior authentication
Cloud IT provider athenahealth has set an ambitious goal over the next three years to eliminate half of the administrative burden associated with private practices’ revenue cycle management.
To increase the speed, accuracy and quality of RCM processing, the company said in an announcement Thursday that the AI-powered improvements it made this year have reduced the number of claim errors at practices’ counters, delays in claims after eliminated patient encounters and streamlined prior authorizations.
Practices say they spend nearly two full days each week on previous authentication tasks, athenahealth said, so the company launched authorization management services to speed up the process.
“With athenaOne’s authorization management, we have transformed our authorization process from a bottleneck to a streamlined operation,” Angela Szymblowski, director of clinical operations at South Texas Spinal Clinic, said in a statement.
By moving away from manual authorizations, the specialty clinic has reduced patient wait times from six to eight weeks to just five days, “allowing us to deliver the tests and procedures our patients need while improving our financial performance,” it said them.
To achieve the efficiencies that athenahealth’s automation provides, “we would need six or more full-time employees dedicated to prior authorizations.”
New OS platform refines data analysis
Tuva Health’s new open-source data platform enables providers, payers, research institutions, life science companies and their partners to develop new methods that refine analytical models to improve patient outcomes and operational efficiencies, the company said Thursday.
As new methods and approaches for processing data are developed, the entire open source community evaluates them for accuracy. Once released, any customer and partner can run the controlled approaches on their data.
Tuva Health said in the announcement that it is working with more than 25 partners, including Oscar Health and CareAbout Health, who have integrated the platform to reduce costs and increase data transparency.
“True healthcare technology companies are finding that we are solving the same problems over and over again,” Mario Schlosser, Oscar co-founder and president of technology, said in a statement.
“We believe it is imperative that we work together – creating open source solutions and improving data interoperability to make healthcare work better.”
Support frontline leaders with insights
University of Cincinnati Health, an integrated academic healthcare system serving the Ohio metropolitan area and Northern Kentucky, has selected Laudio’s AI-powered leader operations platform to address persistent burnout and employee turnover issues, according to an announcement Wednesday.
By streamlining workflows for its 7,500 frontline team members at two of its major hospitals and outpatient clinics, UC Health will use the technology to free up capacity, allowing frontline workers to spend less time on administrative tasks and more time on daily interactions between executives and employees . said.
The workflow hub collects data from multiple healthcare systems and streamlines administrative work with built-in capabilities, Laudio said. The platform surfaces employee insights, trends and indicators and provides AI-driven recommendations that can help leaders prioritize high-impact actions.
“Enabling and involving frontline leaders are prerequisites for a thriving frontline workforce,” said Dr. Russ Richmond, CEO and co-founder of Laudio, said in a statement.
It gives leaders “better visibility into their teams and streamlines workflows to save time,” added Rob Wiehe, senior vice president and chief operating officer of UC Health.
“Making data easily accessible and actionable for our frontline leaders is a key focus.”
The use of the technology has increased efficiency, but also created opportunities to strengthen the culture at UC Health, Margie Zyble, the health system’s chief human resources officer, said in the statement.
“Empowering our people is a top priority in our cultural evolution.”
Improve precision with frontline feedback
Dallas-based Spectral AI, which focuses on AI-driven wound diagnostics, announced Monday that by incorporating first-line feedback, it has advanced improvements in its critical care platform by increasing diagnostic accuracy and improving workflow integrations for the purpose of patient care.
The updated software products, which are also used by burn centers, met British and Australian regulatory milestones for medical diagnostics, according to the company.
“As we receive additional feedback from real-world use, we will continue to improve DeepView’s performance and impact on patient care,” said Dr. J. Michael DiMaio, chairman of Spectral AI’s board of directors, said in a statement.
“The feedback from the UK is extremely encouraging and confirms my belief that DeepView can significantly contribute to better patient care.”
Andrea Fox is editor-in-chief of Healthcare IT News.
Email: afox@himss.org
Healthcare IT News is a HIMSS Media publication.