Julius Bogdan, vice president and general manager of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Digital Health Advisory Team for North America, discusses how artificial intelligence (AI) can help combat clinician burnout, which has played a major factor in the "great resignation" in healthcare.
"AI can help automate routine, repeatable tasks so you can deploy your human resources where they are most needed," Bogdan explained. "That type of automation is the long-hanging fruit AI can provide to help address turn-over rates and help reduce burnout."
He said the need to do repeat work or getting bogged down in mandated, tedious tasks rather than being able to concentrate on direct patient care is what has caused many clinicians to reconsider their jobs and wonder if they can find something better else where. Staffing levels are also a constant issue among nurses. By helping automate some tasks, reduce repeat data entry and eliminate the large amount of human interaction needed for billing and resource allocation, Bogan said health systems can help gain back staff time clinicians can put toward direct patient care.
"AI can really help improve performance and operational efficiencies," Bogan explained. "AI can prioritize services based on a patient's acuity or resource availability, help with better scheduling, improve revenue cycle performance by optimizing workflows and help with prior authorization approvals and denials. AI also can help automate routine, repeatable tasks so you can deploy your human resources where they are most needed. That type of automation is the long-hanging fruit AI can provide to help address turn-over rates and help reduce burnout."
This is part of a 5-part series of interviews with Bogdan on various aspects of AI in healthcare. Here are the other videos in the series:
VIDEO: 9 key areas where AI is being implemented in healthcare
VIDEO: How hospital IT teams should manage implementation of AI algorithms
VIDEO: Use of AI to address health equity and health consumerization
VIDEO: Understanding biases in healthcare AI
Dave Fornell has covered healthcare for more than 17 years, with a focus in cardiology and radiology. Fornell is a 5-time winner of a Jesse H. Neal Award, the most prestigious editorial honors in the field of specialized journalism. The wins included best technical content, best use of social media and best COVID-19 coverage. Fornell was also a three-time Neal finalist for best range of work by a single author. He produces more than 100 editorial videos each year, most of them interviews with key opinion leaders in medicine. He also writes technical articles, covers key trends, conducts video hospital site visits, and is very involved with social media. E-mail: dfornell@innovatehealthcare.com