In the 2014 movie Transcendence, Johnny Depp plays Dr. Will Caster, a scientist whose drive for artificial intelligence (AI) becomes dangerous when his consciousness is uploaded into one such program. Although the topic of AI seemed more futuristic a decade ago, it has permeated industries across the United States, including healthcare.
Yes, healthcare has lagged a little in the AI game, but it is being adopted for an increasing number of applications by a wide range of entities. Roughly 94 percent of healthcare businesses utilize AI or machine learning in some capacity, and 83 percent have implemented an artificial intelligence strategy.
Just how are hospitals, health systems and physician practices utilizing AI? Many employ the technology for appointment scheduling to reduce wait times and no-shows or as a tool to help patients manage chronic conditions and increase rates of preventative screening. Other healthcare providers use AI to conduct hospital post-discharge follow-up, answer common patient questions, communicate instructions for laboratory prep and retrieve billing information.
How AI Helped Create maxRVU
The team behind maxRVU knows a little about AI. Our company was established when an orthopedic surgeon and a technologist combined their brainpower to address the extensive issues physicians face: rapidly declining revenues, increasing administrative burden and non-existent work-life balance. They knew that in today's advanced world of robotics and AI, there had to be a better solution.
maxRVU has grown to include a comprehensive suite of point-of-care solutions, from mobile charge capture and virtual scribe services to instant telemedicine and secure messaging These offerings benefit physicians, advanced practice providers, residents and practice managers along with hospitals and billing companies by simplifying technology so clinicians can focus on patient care while those responsible for revenue cycle management (RCM) can ensure accurate, timely and efficient billing practices.
The AI technology embedded in the maxRVU platform enables physicians to help improve documentation and communication of patient charges in real time. For healthcare providers, that means accurate claims submitted faster and more time away from the office. See, healthcare doesn’t have to be that complicated!
AI Applications and Advantages for RCM
AI continues to be applied to numerous applications in medical billing to address challenges in accuracy and productivity. Claim denials, patient eligibility mistakes, inaccurate or incomplete documentation and manual processes — not to mention the compilation of more than 70,000 billable codes — make it difficult for medical billers to conduct error-free processes, even when they have years of experience.
Such administrative errors in medical billing can be costly for the healthcare system. In primary care alone, they comprise up to half of all medical errors.
Used to automate repetitive analyses and procedures in medical billing, AI saves time and boosts productivity and efficiency. Completing RCM tasks is often expensive, but automating them can markedly advance financial processes while enabling providers to focus on patient care.
Similarly, by employing AI to automate the pre-authorization process, providers and patients are informed sooner about whether a procedure or treatment is covered under a specific health plan. The result is increased patient and provider satisfaction.
In addition to decreased processing times and a reduction in standard work hours of administrative staff, AI offers myriad benefits for the medical billing industry, including:
- Increased provider satisfaction through less EHR data entry
- Improved patient satisfaction through timely distribution of accurate billing statements
- Enhanced ability to contextualize unstructured data
- Quicker identification of errors
- Reduced claim denials
- Improved workflows
- Decreased operating costs due to manual billing processes
- Increased ability to perform audits in real-time
- Improved accuracy in text processing
The Importance of Security and Privacy in AI
If your healthcare organization is considering implementing an AI solution designed for healthcare, it is crucial to follow industry best practices such as not storing patient data within the large language model and developing and maintaining a strategy that avoids any security and policy-associated problems, including:
- Unauthorized access and use of sensitive patient data
- Cyberattacks and data breaches
- Noncompliance with HIPAA regulations
- Limitations of de-identification protections
- Lack of continuous improvement
These risks are not without safeguards, no matter the size of the healthcare organization using AI solutions. For example, every piece of data in transit or at rest should be encrypted using industry-leading methods, and regular backups should be performed to ensure that healthcare data is never lost.
It’s important to train your healthcare staff on AI privacy and security best practices and regularly evaluate compliance with various stringent regulations. We recommend involving third-party experts to conduct independent audits and assessments of your AI systems to identify vulnerabilities and provide unbiased feedback.
Are you ready to see how AI solutions created solely for healthcare can help you improve patient satisfaction, enhance profitability, reduce errors and save you time? Contact us today to start your complimentary two-week trial of the maxRVU platform!
