A survey conducted by the analyst group, Forrester reveals that over half (54 percent) of organisations anticipate utilising generative artificial intelligence (AI) to boost employee productivity. While AI is commonly associated with enhancing customer service and detecting fraud, its transformative potential in healthcare systems is immense. AI can significantly improve waiting times, resource allocation, and employee wellbeing, as well as the financial rigour of both public and private healthcare sectors.
Healthcare has long grappled with issues such as staff shortages, prolonged waiting times, and operational inefficiencies from unstructured tech and multiple systems. These challenges are just some of the factors that contribute to the burnout of healthcare professionals and impose financial strains on healthcare providers due to rising costs and reduced operational revenue. The adoption of AI technology is not about replacing medical practitioners but rather optimising the healthcare environment for the benefit of patients, clinicians, and providers alike.
The administrative burden
NHS workers in the UK spend an average of nearly 14 hours a week on administrative tasks; a 25 percent increase over the past seven years. A British Medical Association survey of trainee GPs found that 70 percent were experiencing burnout and stress, primarily due to the overwhelming paperwork. Addressing this burnout is essential for retaining valuable medical staff and ensuring high standards of patient care. Technology, particularly AI, is already making significant strides in reducing this administrative burden.
In the past year, our AI programs have reduced the time spent on administrative tasks by 40 percent, transcribing up to 18,000 patient appointments weekly. Generative AI simplifies complex, time-consuming administrative and clinical processes, alleviating workplace pressures for clinicians. The current iteration of AI tools and Large Language Models (LLMs) excels in analysing vast volumes of unstructured data, such as clinical notes and medical records, and can efficiently transcribe doctors' notes, pre-fill referral letters, and perform other administrative tasks.
Enhancing personalised care
AI's ability to analyse data allows patients to experience a more personalised level of care. At Kry over 750k patients so far have experienced AI charting- where we direct patients to the right clinician.
Generative AI provides robust information management, enabling clinicians to remain at the helm, while the AI tool tackles any administrative heavy tasks. This collaboration fosters confidence and enhances the integration of AI technology. For example, by supporting clinicians in identifying and prompting suitable diagnosis codes that are then reviewed and set by the clinician for the patient. To date, at Kry, more than 700k ICD code suggestions have been generated meaning the clinician diagnoses the patient and the tool looks up the relevant code. This reduces the time spent on the manual input of diagnosis codes, thereby improving efficiency.
AI's capability to understand medical notes and conversations enhances patient needs analysis, particularly in managing chronic diseases like asthma and obesity, mental health, and female health. It can also provide population-level insights at a lower cost. This digital-first, preventative care approach helps people stay healthy longer at a fraction of the cost of traditional hospital-led care.
Measurable gains
Governments across Europe are setting clear healthcare objectives to achieve reinvestable efficiency and productivity gains. The positive outcomes are multiple. Reducing administrative time for healthcare professionals decreases primary care waiting times for patients, broadens limited healthcare resources, and reduces costs for taxpayers. Our goal is to increase clinician productivity, potentially freeing up significant clinician time over the long term so more patients get the care they need.
New tools and technologies will continually advance healthcare. However, the most substantial social and economic gains lie in the potential that data and AI can deliver to unlock unprecedented efficiency and optimisation, benefiting patients, healthcare professionals, and providers alike.
