As we step into the promising realm of 2024 and beyond, the healthcare industry is on the cusp of a transformational era driven by advanced technology solutions. There are many challenges and opportunities for health IT professionals, especially as there is more patient data than ever before.
However, there are new solutions that leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to address the large amounts of patient data that is being created. Let's take a look at how it can help solve some of the problems facing the industry.
Data Growth: Steady Rapid Growth
With each passing year, the healthcare industry is on the verge of being flooded with data. With the proliferation of EHRs, wearable devices, and telehealth services, patient data has grown exponentially. According to a recent report, approximately 30% of the world's data volume is generated by the healthcare industry. By 2025, the compound annual growth rate of healthcare data is expected to reach 36%. This is 6% faster than manufacturing, 10% faster than financial services, and 11% faster than media and entertainment.
As healthcare IT leaders, our responsibility is to not only deal with massive amounts of data, but also to ensure that it is secure and accessible. The challenge is not just managing the data, but managing it in a way that ensures privacy, compliance, and seamless exchange of information across the healthcare ecosystem.
Guardian of medical data
The synergy between AI and healthcare data management is more evident than ever. AI’s ability to process and analyze massive data sets at unprecedented speed positions it as the guardian of patient information.
For example, machine learning (ML) algorithms can be trained to identify patterns and anomalies in healthcare data, which is particularly useful for detecting potential fraud and compliance violations. By analyzing historical data and learning from patterns, AI and ML can help healthcare organizations identify suspicious activity and conduct further investigation.
By leveraging machine learning algorithms, we can create intelligent systems that not only store data securely, but also adapt and evolve to meet the evolving needs of healthcare providers.
Accurate and secure record keeping
Accurate and secure record-keeping is at the heart of effective patient care. AI usheres in a new era of accuracy and reduces the risks associated with manual data entry and human error. Machine learning algorithms assist with patient record integrity and flag anomalies and discrepancies in real-time.
AI provides context-aware insights for healthcare providers, providing a holistic view of a patient's medical history and treatment plan. This not only improves the quality of care but also promotes a collaborative and informed approach between healthcare professionals.
Increased efficiency and speed
AI can improve data transformation by automating tasks such as data mapping and transformation. Due to increased speed and efficiency, AI will be increasingly leveraged during data migration to identify discrepancies, errors, and missing values ​​and suggest corrective actions in real-time. Additionally, AI supports efficient automatic updates, reducing manual intervention and ensuring accurate mapping on target systems.
AI and ML are already being employed to automate the process of moving structured data, such as drug information, from one EHR to another, inform clinical decision-making, and improve data transformation. . Overall, AI streamlines the migration process, reducing manual effort and potential errors.
road ahead
Looking ahead, the continued integration of AI into healthcare data management is not only a technical imperative, but also a collaborative effort. Vendors, healthcare providers, and IT professionals must work together to address the complexity of this evolving landscape. Companies that embrace AI responsibly will be the ones to lead the way.
The healthcare IT community must foster an environment of openness, interoperability, and ethical use of AI. By fostering a collaborative ecosystem, we can harness the true potential of AI to revolutionize data management, enhance patient care, and shape the future.
About Tom Riddell
Tom Liddell is Managing Partner and Chief Executive Officer of Harmony Healthcare IT. He has over 35 years of experience in health information technology and was president and co-founder of SMI, a medical technology company located in Indiana.