CHICAGO The Philips Future Health Index 2023 global report released here at HIMSS23 today shows healthcare leaders are focused on addressing staffing shortages and stepping up planned AI investments.

The investments are to increase critical decision support and operational efficiency that will also help tackle staffing shortages.

First and foremost, providers are concerned with staffing shortages and are looking to right-size the issue through AI and machine learning that will help them do more with less, according to Shez Partovi, chief innovation and strategy officer and business leader, Enterprise Informatics, at Philips.

It shows virtual care continues to be a key area for patient access.

"The second thing we saw was, coming out of the pandemic, there continues to be a big desire to use virtual care delivery for quality access and cost of care," Partovi said. "The third thing, we're stronger together; individuals signaled to us that they see building partnerships with health system partners and with tech partners as a way of addressing the other two items in improving access to care."

WHY THIS MATTERS

Access to care, and not just in the hospital setting, has been among the themes to emerge from the HIMSS23 Global Health Conference & Exhibition.

Kicking off Monday's Executive Summit,HIMSS President and CEO Hal Wolf told a ballroom of C-suite leaders that healthcare is "inside-out" that is, no longer happening inside the four walls of a hospital.

The Philips report also shows the broadening of access points, with 82% of respondents talking about virtual intensive care, Partovi said. Ambulatory sites such as walk-in clinicsare also increasing access.

"People are investing in the broadening of access points," Partovi said.

Somewhat surprising, he said, is that the report shows an increased willingness to partner to improve care. Thirty-four percent of respondents said they are in favor of partnerships and collaboration to improve care. This number climbed to 43% for younger respondents.

Other healthcare IT experts at HIMSS23 have also talked of a new willingness to collaborate and share data.

There's less of proprietary competition and more of willingness to say, "'How can we do this together?'" said John Halamaka, president of Mayo Clinic Platform, during Monday's Executive Summit.

Said Partovi: "It signals the direction we're going in healthcare."

THE LARGER TREND

Royal Philips is a Dutch multinational conglomerate and a health technology company.

The eighth annual Future Health Index 2023 report,"Taking healthcare everywhere," is based on proprietary research among nearly 3,000 healthcare leaders and younger healthcare professionals conducted in 14 countries.

It shows providers plan investments in AI over the next three years with the biggest increase in critical decision support (39% in 2023, up from 24% in 2021). This was a top choice among cardiology (50%) and radiology (48%) leaders.

The percentage of healthcare leaders planning to invest in AI for operational efficiency, including automating documentation, scheduling patients and performing routine tasks, remained steady at 37%.

Twitter: @SusanJMorseEmail the writer: SMorse@himss.org

Zenobia Brown will offer more detail in the HIMSS23 session "Views from the Top: Can Technology and Innovation Advance Behavioral Healthcare?" It is scheduled for Tuesday, April 18, at 10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. CT at the South Building, Level 1, room S100 B.

See the article here:

Philips Future Health Index shows providers plan to invest in AI - Healthcare Finance News