Change is constant in healthcare. Ongoing studies lead to new learnings, discoveries, and technologies that constantly reshape the patient experience. Consequently, this impacts healthcare coverage as new health plan models emerge to meet members’ evolving needs.
That’s why we’ve put together a 2024 Trend Report to explore which trends impact today’s healthcare and coverage landscape, but more importantly, what that means in the year ahead.
Continue reading for a first-page preview of the 2024 Trend Report.
Digital innovation, including Artificial Intelligence
AI is top-of-mind across several industries—but how does that impact the healthcare experience moving forward? It turns out AI has the potential to harness patient data to improve aspects of care. This can lower the cost of medical services and enhance efficiencies. Predictive modeling capabilities within algorithms can give patients—and providers—a better grasp of chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease, hepatitis, and kidney disease. The current uses of AI vary widely and include:
- Recordkeeping and coding through natural language processing that improves the accuracy and productivity of patient office visits;
- Image analysis that can accurately and inexpensively identify and quantify clinical risk;
- Virtual assistants that help patients adhere to dietary restrictions;
- Programs that predict how long patients will stay in the hospital and their likelihood of returning;
- Remote digital monitoring applications that enable the transmission of a person’s biometric data and communication between patients and their providers; and
- AI-enabled applications that provide cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), mood tracking, and mental health assessments.
Improved diagnosis, treatment, and predictive modeling through AI requires a clean, comprehensive, and complete set of private and unique data for every patient.
This next phase of AI development in healthcare depends on advancements in computing power, the composition and size of data sets, and the comfort level of patients, physicians, and regulators in managing and unleashing this potential.
Dr. Keith Dreyer, Chief Data Science Officer at Mass General Brigham and leader of the Mass General Brigham AI business, is optimistic about the ways in which generative AI will be able to transform healthcare for the better. He says, “As healthcare systems like Mass General Brigham lean into AI to accelerate their work, we see great potential for new foundation models that utilize advanced technologies."
Download now to learn more about digital innovation, financial challenges impacting the healthcare industry, telemedicine expansion, behavioral health resources, health equity, weight-loss drugs, pharmacy benefits, and new patient care models, including Home Hospital.