Here is what you’ll find in this week’s newsletter!

1. Important links 🔗 - the best articles we found this week about the Medicare Market along with links to Jared’s recent LinkedIn posts.

2. Deep Dive 📚 - This week’s deep dive explores ways AI is being used in Healthcare today.

3. Sponsor Snapshot 🚀 - HealthQuotes can get you inbound Medicare calls!

4. Data Visual of the week 📊 - Data Visual highlighting the projected market size of AI in Healthcare.

It’s only a 5 minute read, but it will make you 10x smarter.

Deep Dive 📚

The (Healthcare) AI Revolution is Here!

Every day we hear about new AI tools that are available to integrate into your personal life or your business. Headlines are constantly touting new joint ventures between healthcare service companies and the world’s large tech companies. Or about how your business needs to implement the newest AI-enabled customer service chatbot.

If you are like me, these headlines can be disconcerting. They make me wonder if we are doing enough to stay at the forefront of the industry. 

What I have come to accept is that there is so much news that it is impossible to keep up without making this a full time endeavor.

If you have the same concerns, then this deep dive is for you. It will highlight some of the key ways that Artificial Intelligence is being used in healthcare system today.

Why Is Healthcare AI Such a Hot Topic?

Healthcare AI has become a hot topic both because it sounds cool, and it has the potential to help lots of people! Who doesn’t want to be championing tools that are on the cutting edge of technology and have the potential to positively impact the lives of millions of people?

Besides the intangible benefit of sounding cool, there are substantial quantifiable benefits from integrating Artificial Intelligence into the healthcare system. I tend to lump these benefits into three categories:

(1) Improved Patient Health Outcomes

(2) Decreased Costs

(3) Increased Revenues

1. Improved Patient Outcomes

The most impactful innovations in healthcare AI are the ones that are focused on improving patient outcomes, i.e., improving the health of the patient. 

These improvements can come from faster and more accurate diagnosis, improvements in the process for sharing health information, and the development of more personalized treatment and aftercare plans. 

In addition to improving the health of the patient, many healthcare innovations can result in an improved patient experience. While not directly related to the patient’s current health status, the patient’s experience can be a major factor in the long-term adherence to their care plans.

2. Decreased Costs

Another way that Artificial Intelligence is expected to impact the healthcare system is through the reduction in administrative and clinical costs. 

This will mainly come from reducing the amount of time that humans spend on certain tasks by augmenting their efforts with technology. As humans become more efficient at performing tasks, the healthcare system will begin to shed excess costs. 

These could be patient-facing tasks like the real-time recording and storage of doctor notes during a consultation, back-office provider office tasks or even large scale payor claims analysis to detect fraud or billing errors. 

There are many applications of AI that are expected to decrease costs for both providers and payors.

(One example getting negative publicity recently - for good reason - is MA plans using AI to stop and deny coverage - link )

3. Increased Revenues

The final main area where AI is expected to yield benefits is through improvements in the provider revenue cycle. 

Many billing systems that are used by healthcare providers can fairly be described as antiquated and inefficient. 

We all have suffered through frustrating instances of surprise bills or inaccurate bills. This should serve as a reminder to review every EOB and bill that you receive from your healthcare providers. You may be surprised at some of the charges that make their way onto your record.

As providers improve their billing practices, they will find places where they have undercharged and overcharged for their services. Improvements in the efficiency and timing of billing (both patient and payor) will also improve their revenue cycles.

What are some examples of successful Artificial Intelligence applications in Healthcare?

No offense to applications that decrease costs or improve revenue, but I think the most interesting AI applications are the ones directly impacting patient outcomes. Although the benefits of decreased costs and increased revenue are important to the healthcare system, I will save those for another day.

Increases in computing power and technology over the last twenty years have led to an explosion in the amount of high-quality health data that is available for analysis. With that improved data availability have come substantial discoveries in ways to better treat many medical conditions. 

Below is a listing of some of the most notable ones that have been publicized.

1. Diagnosis Improvements

With the increase in the amount of data that is available in electronic health records, several companies have been successful in training algorithms to better detect diseases by reading the results of CT scans, MRIs and other images and combining that information with patient history information. 

The resulting tools can be used by doctors to speed up the process of reviewing patient records and diagnosing their medical condition. 

In some instances, this time savings could determine the extent of disability or could be a key determinant in what path of treatment is recommended.

Some of my favorite examples:

PathAI works to improve the accuracy of diagnosis and efficacy of treatments.

Viz.ai has developed a suite of tools to detect issues and notify care teams quickly.

Arterys is focused on analyzing medical images to improve diagnostic decision making.

2. Specialized Drug Development

As the cost of developing new pharmaceutical drugs continues to climb, the industry is looking for ways to improve their processes. 

Many companies have begun to leverage AI in their new drug development processes so that the can improve their time to market and increase the likelihood of a successful new drug development.

The following are some companies that have built AI tools to help accelerate the development of new drugs.

BioXcel Therapuetics develops new medicines and looks for new ways to use existing drugs.

Reverie Labs uses technology to develop next-generation cancer therapies.

Valo Health uses its Opal Computational Platform to integrate data in the drug development process.

Final Thoughts

The possibilities for ways that AI can be used to improve healthcare are truly endless. With all the ways that technology can be used to improve patient outcomes we expect to see companies expanding their offerings and new companies entering this space.

If you are looking for a single source of information for how Artificial Intelligence is being used in the healthcare industry, I would recommend checking out Fierce Healthcare. Can check them out here.

Data Visual of the Week 📊

Data Visual of the week is from Precedence Research. Their research indicates that the global AI in healthcare accounted for $15.1 billion in 2022 and will grow to $187.95 billion in 2030. This is equivalent to a 37% CAGR.

If you’re ready, here are some ways we can help you:

• Newsletter Sponsorship opportunities: promote your product or services to leaders in the Medicare space. Let’s discuss. (link) Note: 6 slots already taken.

• Market Research: Reports that help you wrap your arms around the Senior focused insurance markets. (link)

• Consulting: We can help you develop new insurance products for the Medicare market. Let’s discuss. (link)