Although investments in healthcare artificial intelligence (AI) solutions are on the rise, many hospitals and health systems who were early adopters have not yet seen their desired return on investment (ROI). Most surveyed healthcare organizations have typically realized less than a third of their technology transformation programs’ expected value, according to McKinsey & Company.1
George Morris, Global Healthcare Chief Information Officer at Dell Technologies, said that, too often, healthcare organizations select solutions based on a single use case rather than first developing a more strategic and holistic approach to AI implementation. “Organizations that have been the most successful with AI have made investments that moved them towards a cohesive platform and maturity model,” he explained.
Morris offered some actionable steps that organizations can take to build a viable and sustainable healthcare AI integration strategy. These can help organizations to become what Dell Technologies refers to as a “center of excellence,” in which people, processes and technologies come together to continually build out an organization’s AI capabilities across the value chain.
Get support and buy-in from senior leadership. A solid AI strategy needs C-suite champions who can assist in driving the necessary communications and change management at all levels of the enterprise. With the right guidance, hospitals and health systems can make the most of AI investments and avoid duplicating efforts as they integrate AI into existing workflows and develop new use cases. “The goal is to invest in AI solutions that you can iterate upon and scale up to achieve greater value across the organization,” said Morris.
Establish strong data governance. Morris cautioned that having effective data governance and management in place is crucial for any organization building an AI strategy. AI can maximize the value of an organization’s data through predictive analysis that can inform decision-making capabilities. But such outcomes are only possible if healthcare organizations can ensure that data is clean, accessible and relevant to the specific problem they are trying to solve.
Develop the right talent mix. Traditional IT application development and support roles may not have the necessary skill sets to help hospitals get the most value out of their AI investments, so upskilling your existing workforce or creating new, more AI-oriented positions may be necessary. “You want to have the resources on hand that will help you implement your individual AI projects while also giving you a long view of how they may need to evolve over time,” Morris said.
Start small and build to reach the desired results. Morris recommends that healthcare organizations start their AI journey with small-scale, low-risk projects that clearly demonstrate value such as patient education or automating administrative tasks. “This approach…can help organizations ease their way into more effective AI adoption and showcase clear benefits,” he added.
Finding the right partners. Since AI solutions continue to change at a rapid pace, healthcare organizations can realize the most benefit when they work with trusted partners who can help them evolve into a center of excellence. Having the right people to guide AI efforts, the processes in place to effectively leverage data and the tools to deliver critical clinical and business insights is what will ultimately bring long-term value from a portfolio of AI investments.
“This type of holistic strategy will provide a platform that will allow you to adopt, transform and support AI while also making sure you are always bringing value back to the organization,” Morris said.
Reference
- Chowdhary, S. September 19, 2024. Reimagining healthcare industry service operations in the age of AI. McKinsey & Company. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/healthcare/our-insights/reimagining-healthcare-industry-service-operations-in-the-age-of-ai.