Can AI Help Save America’s Healthcare Crisis?

The U.S. healthcare system is at a crossroads. It is facing a critical labor shortage that is leading to reduced productivity, higher rates of burnout and stress, and less time spent with patients actually delivering care. However, Todd Jaschke, Vice President of Operations, Healthcare at Invisible Technologies, believes that artificial intelligence (AI) offers the potential to be the ‘force multiplier’ that turns this situation around. 

“AI really could be used to turn our healthcare system around quite dramatically.”

“AI could optimize the patient experience while also freeing up physicians, health professionals, nurses, and administrators to focus on where they’re needed most,” Jaschke says.  “In the process, it could transform the way our entire healthcare system works.” 

Aging Population Meets Falling Doctor Numbers

Over the past few years, the U.S. healthcare system has been stretched to the maximum, partly due to the impact of COVID-19. 

“As a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic, it really tested the resources of the entire healthcare system,” Jaschke explains. “Virtually every single healthcare professional was on deck and working at full capacity.”

But, as Jaschke also observes, the effects of this didn’t end when the pandemic subsided. Increased workloads and elevated stress meant many physicians and other healthcare professionals suffered burnout well after the event itself. 

“We’re seeing an unprecedented level of demand for healthcare services, which only increases the strain these systems are facing with nursing and physician shortages,” Jaschke says.

According to the American Medical Association, this is set to get much worse. Data released at the end of 2023 suggests that one in five physicians surveyed during the pandemic said they planned to leave medicine within the next two years, while one in three said they would cut back on their hours.

At the same time as this happens, the average age of doctors in the U.S. is rising. More than half are now over 55 and, given that it takes up to 10 years and $270,000 in college fees to train a new physician, any hole that creates is likely to be deep.

Just like their physicians, Americans are growing older. By 2030, for the first time ever, there will be more Americans over the age of 65 than below the age of 18. As this happens, healthcare capacity will need to increase - with official forecasts showing health spending will top $16 trillion, or an incredible 32 percent of GDP.

Overcoming Entrenched Inequality in Healthcare

“When America’s healthcare system works, it is one of the best in the world,” Jaschke says. “We’re lucky to have more of the world’s best physicians, researchers, and healthcare facilities than anywhere else.”

“But, unlike most Western countries - which have a substantial safety net and free or subsidized healthcare - it is not accessible for everyone.” 

“Despite spending more money on healthcare than anywhere else, we have entrenched healthcare inequality. This also applies to where physicians are located.”

Sixty-five percent of rural Americans already faced a shortage of primary physicians, according to data compiled by the Health Resources & Services Administration. And, while 15% of Americans live in rural areas, only 10% of doctors do.

To date, one of the major ways the United States government has looked to overcome its acute labor shortage is to hire labor from overseas. In 2021, one in five practicing physicians in the United States - or some 205,000 - attended medical school outside the U.S. or Canada. 

But even this isn’t enough. Projections show a physician shortage of up to 124,000 physicians by 2036, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges.

“And it’s not just physicians, either. It’s other practicing medical health professionals - like nurses, dentists, psychologists, and physiotherapists” Jaschke says. “There’s also a shortage of health administrators.”

The AI Revolution Could Transform Health

Jaschke believes that, while these challenges may seem insurmountable right now, AI will be able to meet them. 

“AI thrives on data, and healthcare generates more of it than any other industry—over 30% of the world's data is health-related, which has historically been driven by the expanded use of electronic health record systems.”.”

“In an age of increased consumerism, apps, wearable tracking devices, and monitoring technology, this percentage is only growing,” Jaschke notes.

“All of this data can be harnessed to reform virtually every aspect of the way our healthcare system works.” 

Most directly, Jaschke notes that AI can help augment labor shortages by analyzing where it is needed most and then allocating medical resources much more efficiently. 

“This would effectively be a triage system in overdrive, directing physicians in hospitals to where they’re needed most - not just based on walk-in assessments or episodic care, but on a deep understanding and analysis of the patient’s data holistically, as well as advanced statistical and trend analysis for greater levels of predictive and preventative care.”

“This means it could actually be proactive rather than reactive, alerting patients before something happens, allocating the right member of a patient’s care team to  intervene, and ultimately preventing more adverse events and better-utilizing resources.”

Much more mundanely, Jaschke also observes that AI can also streamline processes such as clinical documentation review and billing. These processes also consume a disproportionate amount of doctors’ time, with one 2020 study finding physicians spent 44.9% of their time manually updating electronic health records.

“By automating these administrative tasks, AI allows healthcare workers to focus more on direct patient care rather than getting bogged down by data entry,” Jaschke says.

“When you consider almost half of physicians’ time is spent on clinical documentation activities, that could add genuine capacity to the system.”

“It will also enable doctors to be used where they’re needed most - not just leading to better health outcomes for patients - but the actual time spent delivering care..”

Implementing AI Immediately 

If these solutions sound far-fetched or a long way off, Jaschke says they’re not. In fact, most healthcare organizations can start harnessing the power of AI almost immediately to help overcome the lack of labor.

"Healthcare organizations can start by leveraging AI to support the generation of clinical summaries by augmenting the tedious task of reviewing historical notes and past summaries. This approach offers quick wins and can pave the way for broader AI integration across the entire system,” he says. “This will also provide immediate labor efficiencies leading to greater utilization of existing medical services.”

“From there, it won’t be long before AI begins to more radically transform the overall healthcare system, ultimately enabling those that adopt such systems to revolutionize their practices for better patient care.”

“AI really could be the force multiplier our healthcare system desperately needs.”