Failure to streamline AI in the clinical setting could result in missed opportunities that healthcare leaders can't come back from.
In today's fast-paced healthcare environment, it is crucial for healthcare executives to stay ahead of the curve and embrace AI technology to ensure the highest quality of care for their patients.
AI has the potential to revolutionize healthcare by streamlining processes, improving patient outcomes, and reducing costs. From diagnosing diseases to predicting patient outcomes, AI can help clinicians make more informed decisions and provide better care to patients.
Failure to streamline AI in the clinical setting could result in missed opportunities for improving patient care, increasing efficiency, and reducing errors.
As the healthcare industry becomes increasingly more complex and data-driven, AI is no longer a luxury but a necessity for hospitals and health systems to remain competitive and provide the best possible care to their patients.
What the clinical leaders are saying
Clinical leaders must act quickly and decisively to integrate AI into their institutions, leveraging its power to enhance clinical decision-making, optimize workflows, and ultimately save lives.
In fact, healthcare is continuing to see clinicians embrace and get more comfortable with AI to ease workflows, boost the flow of patient and provider data, and improve quality of care and outcomes, Peggy Duggan, MD, executive vice president, chief physician executive, and chief medical officer of Tampa General Hospital previously told HealthLeaders.
"The important steel thread here is the 'why,' which for our physicians and team members at Tampa General Hospital is the delivery of the highest quality care possible," she says.
Clinical documentation is an example of a key area for AI adoption, Duggan says. There is a lot of work physicians do that is not value added but is required to advance care, so incorporating AI into documentation continues to offer an opportunity to free up clinicians to spend more time with patients and directly provide care, she says.
Managing data is another area where AI can boost healthcare, Duggan says. "It's critical that provider-level data flows freely, as well as patient and system-wide data, so AI will be able to help us identify more opportunities to improve patient care," she says.
AI will also continue to be used more frequently to guide clinical decision-making, Duggan says.
"At Tampa General Hospital, we are already piloting data-driven technology that supports the proper choice of antibiotics and pathways that prompt when antibiotics can be decelerated," she says. "These are great tools to support our teams while ensuring that a large volume of data—especially at a large academic health system treating some of the most complex conditions—doesn't overshadow a salient data point, which could drive not only safer care but also the delivery of the right care at the right time."
AI is likely to make major advancements in healthcare next year, says Ghazala Sharieff, MD, MBA, corporate senior vice president and chief medical and operations officer for acute care at Scripps Health.
"We recently had a retreat with a two-hour session on AI. The radiologists are asking to use AI more as they are doing their diagnostic readings. Telemedicine made a big splash during the coronavirus pandemic, and AI is the next big thing for healthcare," she says.
What are the next steps?
The time to embrace AI in healthcare is now, and the consequences of inaction could be detrimental to both patients and providers.
That is why HealthLeaders is introducing a new track of this first-of-its-kind national program HealthLeaders Mastermind: Clinical AI, to bring together leading health systems to share what they have learned about utilizing AI in the clinical space.
This event is currently underway and there are still a few spots open. E-mail exchange@healthleadersmedia.com if you would like to be considered for this one-of-a-kind program before it fills up.
The HealthLeaders Mastermind series is an exclusive series of calls and events with healthcare executives. This Clinical AI Mastermind series features ideas, solutions, and insights on excelling your virtual nursing program.
Amanda Norris is the Director of Content for HealthLeaders.