How CFOs Can Implement Balanced AI Adoption

What goes into successful AI adoption?

The benefits of AI in healthcare are no secret. Health systems all over the country make use of AI to automate tasks, take on administrative work, reduce staff burnout, streamline operations, and optimize departments like revenue cycle.

But health systems can also leverage their internal relationship with their AI tools to boost income and uncover new opportunities for growth, and CFOs can play a big role in helping their organizations utilize AI for financial growth.

CFOs should collaborate with CTOs and other tech executives to ensure the AI they are using is solving a specific challenge in their organization. To do this, a deeper understanding of the technology is vital.

Generative AI in particular can help health systems tighten the screws on a number of challenges such as patient engagement and supply chain improvements. GenAI can identify subgroups of patients that are likely to respond to a specific treatment, but it can also analyze inventory levels, among other factors, in supply chains to help minimize risk.

But to successfully utilize GenAI, CFOs will need to focus on a few key actions.

Development costs

Firstly, CFOs will need to develop cost models to manage the unique cost structures of GenAI, which can be expensive to get started. This includes the costs for data acquisition, cleaning, licensing, partnering with AI engineering talent, and computing resources, both cloud-based and internal.

 CFOs will need to carefully assess these costs and create a plan of how to amortize them over revenue streams to get to their desired return on investment. CFOs can align use cases with strategic financial goals and identify the most valuable opportunities for AI adoption.

Determining market needs

Health systems must be careful not to use AI simply for the purpose of using AI. CFOs will need to examine the specific needs of their market and ask the right questions. Does it encompass a large Medicare population? Is there a growing number of behavioral health patients? Are there reimbursement gaps?

After CFOs have developed a focus on a few key market populations and their needs, then they can determine where specific types of AI and automation can help and truly make a difference in the bottom line and patient outcomes. CFOs can utilize AI in the continuum of care by making use of programs that automatically follow up with the patient and offer additional resources for them to record symptoms and outcomes remotely.

Utilization balance

Even though AI can be majorly helpful for health systems looking to cut costs, CFOs must ensure that they don’t move too fast with AI adoption. To see a favorable ROI, CFOs must make sure all staff have thorough training with new AI programs and feel comfortable working alongside them.

Moving at a steady pace for AI adoption can also help with patient retention. Health systems must be open and transparent about their use of AI programs, or they risk losing the trust of some patients. An AI investment return may not be as significant if the organization loses patients who are confused or distrustful of AI practices.