Artificial Intelligence Adoption and Investments Growing Rapidly Among Health Industry Leaders
October 08 2019 - 9:56AM
Business Wire
- Second OptumIQ survey of health care executives finds 88%
increase in number who said their organizations have implemented an
artificial intelligence (AI) strategy compared with 2018
- Nine in 10 leaders are confident they will see a return on
investment in AI sooner than previously expected; half say in less
than three years. They also expect to invest more – an average
industry net increase of $7.3 million compared with 2018
- Implementing AI is expected to streamline work and create more
job opportunities for skilled employees
Confidence and investment in artificial intelligence (AI) to
improve health care remain high, according to a new survey of 500
U.S. health industry leaders from hospitals, health plans, life
sciences and employers, on their attitudes and adoption of the
technology. Significantly, compared with 2018 findings, this year’s
results found a nearly 88% increase in the number of respondents
who said their organizations have a strategy in place and have
implemented AI.
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The second OptumIQ Annual Survey on AI in Health Care also
reveals a shift in funding expectations for AI-related projects, as
leaders estimate their organizations will invest an average of
$39.7 million over the next five years – $7.3 million more than
last year’s estimate.
“These findings validate that AI is vital to holistically
transform health care. It’s encouraging to see executives’ growing
trust in, and adoption of, AI to make data more actionable in
making the health system work better for everyone,” said Dan
Schumacher, president and chief operating officer of Optum.
“Working together, I am confident we can improve the quality,
experiences and reduce the total cost of health care in meaningful,
sustainable ways.”
In addition, the survey found:
- A positive return on investment (ROI) will take less time
than previously expected, as little as three years in some
cases. Half (50%) of respondents expect to see a tangible cost
savings in three years or fewer as a result of investing in AI,
compared with 31% in 2018. Among the respondent groups, more
hospitals (55%) and health plans (52%) expect to see a positive
return in less time – in three years or fewer – while life sciences
executives (38%) anticipate it taking five years or longer.
- Implementation has advanced. Sixty-two percent of
respondents report having implemented an AI strategy – an increase
of nearly 88% from 2018 (33%) – while 22% report being at late
stages of implementation.
- A higher level of trust in AI for administrative over
clinical applications. While most respondents indicated high
levels of trust in AI for both clinical and administrative tasks
overall, when asked to rank specific applications, more
administrative applications were selected (62%) over clinical
applications (38%). In addition, when asked which health care
applications, if any, they would feel comfortable having AI
technology support, four out of five of the top-ranked applications
were administrative.
- Administrative process improvements top the list of
investment priorities. Half (50%) of organizations will invest
first in automating business processes, such as administrative
tasks or customer service, while more than a third (36%) will
invest in personalizing clinical care recommendations, such as drug
therapies, and the same percentage (36%) also will invest in
accelerating research for new therapeutic or clinical
discoveries.
AI Seen as Most Pragmatic for Non-clinical Applications
In addition to noting the growing value of AI in the clinical
environment, health care executives are looking to AI to solve a
variety of operational and administrative challenges, such as
automating pre-authorizations and personalizing care. The top five
areas that organizations see AI as having potential are:
- 51% to automate prior authorizations
- 47% to provide individuals with relevant health actions using
personalized communications
- 45% to manage electronic health records (EHRs)
- 43% to detect fraud, waste or abuse in reimbursement
- 38% to select appropriate care settings
AI to Create More Employment Opportunities and Drive Job
Growth As more organizations invest in and move forward with
implementations, half (52%) of leaders expect AI to create more
work opportunities. The majority (87%) agree that hiring candidates
who have experience working with AI technology is a priority for
their organization.
Most (89%) also agree employees are not being trained quickly
enough to keep up with the growth of AI. In fact, 91% estimate that
10% to 50% of new roles will require experience working with AI. To
solve this, they are evenly split among solutions such as
establishing partnerships, creating training programs, working with
consulting firms and postponing projects.
“In order to transform and modernize the U.S. health system
through the power of AI, it is critical that organizations invest
in developing talent throughout the enterprise to solve health
care’s most complex challenges,” said Steve Griffiths, senior vice
president and chief operating officer of Optum Enterprise
Analytics. “At Optum, we apply what we call OptumIQ – a distinctive
combination of curated data, analytics and health care expertise –
to drive that intelligence transformation.”
To learn more about the 2019 OptumIQ Annual Survey on AI in
Health Care, download the fact sheet and watch the video.
About Optum Optum is a leading information and
technology-enabled health services business dedicated to helping
make the health system work better for everyone. With more than
165,000 people worldwide, Optum delivers intelligent, integrated
solutions that help to modernize the health system and improve
overall population health. Optum is part of UnitedHealth Group
(NYSE:UNH). For more information, visit www.Optum.com.
About OptumIQ OptumIQ powers intelligence across the
health care system. It represents the unique combination of data,
analytics and health care expertise infused into our products and
services. These capabilities provide our customers with a
comprehensive view of performance, while delivering dynamic and
multidimensional insights that get smarter every day. For more
information, visit www.optum.com/iq.
About the Survey An online survey of 500 senior health
care industry executives defined as those VP level+ working in the
health care industry and includes C-Level titles (CEO, COO, CFO,
CTO, CMO). Qualifying organizations include hospitals, clinics,
health insurance companies, medical device manufacturers,
pharmaceutical companies, health care IT and other organizations
working in the health care sector. Quotas set for statistical
significance for four organization types: 1) Hospitals, including
but not limited to ACOs and health systems; 2) Health Plans/Health
Insurance Companies; 3) Life Sciences Organizations; 4) Health Care
Employers, including but not limited to pharmaceutical and medical
device manufacturers. The survey was conducted between Aug. 19 and
Sept. 3, 2019, using an email invitation and an online survey. The
2018 Survey was fielded between Sept. 12 and Sept. 25, 2018, using
the same protocol, audience criteria and sample size.
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Gwen Holliday Optum 202-549-3429 gwen.m.holliday@optum.com
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