The health care industry is gearing up for a battle over whether and how clinical artificial intelligence should get paid for.Β
As of the end of September, the Food and Drug Administration has authorized 1,357 AI-enabled medical devices. But very few of those tools are actively paid for by insurers.Β
Some health policy experts and clinicians donβt see that as a problem. Continue to STAT+ to read the full storyβ¦
In many parts of the United States, patients have gotten used to living without primary care. Nearly 75 million people in the United States live in an area with a shortage of these critical providers, leading to long wait times β if a patient can find primary care at all.Β
The scale of the access problem, βitβs like red alert β red, red, red alert level β and itβs been like that for a while,β said physician Rajesh Patel, vice president of digital patient experience at Mass General Brigham.
In many parts of the United States, patients have gotten used to living without primary care. Nearly 75 million people in the United States live in an area with a shortage of these critical providers, leading to long wait times β if a patient can find primary care at all.Β
The scale of the access problem, βitβs like red alert β red, red, red alert level β and itβs been like that for a while,β said physician Rajesh Patel, vice president of digital patient experience at Mass General Brigham.
The situation is only getting worse: By 2037, the nation will be short 87,000 primary care physicians, according to federal estimates.Β
Clinical artificial intelligence company K Health thinks it has part of the solution. Over the last twoyears, it has partnered with fivelarge health systems β Cedars-Sinai, Mayo Clinic, Hackensack Meridian Health, Hartford HealthCare, and Mass General Brigham β to launch round-the-clock virtual primary care platforms enabled by its AI. Today, it announced another partnershipwith Northwell Health, New Yorkβs largest health system, which began rolling out its platform in October.Β
Health insurance companies are fighting fire with fire as they combat rising medical costs they say are being driven up, in part, by artificial intelligence.Β
Large private insurers have continued to call out purportedly overzealous coding and billing as a source of ballooning health care costs. In particular, some have blamed the use of AI tools for some of the surge in claims from health care providers that have cut into their profits.Β
βIβve talked to a couple of my peers where it does
Health insurance companies are fighting fire with fire as they combat rising medical costs they say are being driven up, in part, by artificial intelligence.Β
Large private insurers have continued to call out purportedly overzealous coding and billing as a source of ballooning health care costs. In particular, some have blamed the use of AI tools for some of the surge in claims from health care providers that have cut into their profits.Β
βIβve talked to a couple of my peers where it does seem like the hospitals have gotten better organized around the application of AI for coding than payers,β said Centene chief financial officer Andrew Asher at the Deutsche Bank Healthcare Summit last month. βBut weβre going to catch up to that.β
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