Healthcare executives are increasingly looking to AI to improve patient outcomes, support cost savings, and promote health equality.
That’s according to the fourth annual Optum Survey on Artificial Intelligence in Health Care, which surveyed 500 senior healthcare executives from leading hospitals, health plans and life sciences companies.
Of respondents, 96% believe AI has an important role in efforts to reach health equity goals, which 94% agree providers have a duty to make sure AI is used responsibly in the healthcare system. And overall, 98% of healthcare organizations either have a strategy or are planning one.
“The responsible use of AI continues to provide important opportunities for health care leaders to streamline administrative processes and provide more effective patient care with enhanced experiences for both patients and providers,” said Steve Griffiths, senior vice president, data and analytics, Optum Labs, the research and development arm of UnitedHealth Group, in a statement. “These leaders are not just users of AI, but they have an opportunity to be looked to as role models across industries in their commitment to using AI responsibly.”
Among the survey’s other findings, 85% of healthcare leaders already have an AI strategy and 48% have implemented it, ticking up from last year's results, in which 83% had an AI strategy and 44% had implemented it.
In addition, healthcare leaders continue to be optimistic that AI technology will create work opportunities (55%) rather than reduce them (45%). This is similar to last year and up from 52% in 2019.
"This year's survey findings continue to validate how the responsible use of AI can help health systems strengthen and scale essential functions and reduce administrative burdens, all of which helps clinicians focus on their core mission of patient care," said Rick Hardy, CEO of Optum Insight, the data and analytics business within Optum. "We share their enthusiasm for AI, but more importantly, we look forward to combining our healthcare expertise with AI to help people -- patients, physicians, and those working behind the scenes -- as that is where the real value is delivered."
Survey respondents also overwhelmingly agreed healthcare organizations have a higher duty than other industries to ensure responsible use of AI. Moreover, 41% said they are excited about the potential for AI in improving patient outcomes in virtual patient care, 40% in improving diagnosis and predicting outcomes, 36% are optimistic about AI’s growing role medical image interpretation.
Among the challenges that remain, according to respondents, the percentage of healthcare leaders who expect savings from their AI investments over the next three years was down to 40 percent as opposed to 60 percent of respondents just a year ago.
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