"Forward-thinking provider organizations will … augment their EHRs through fully integrated, consumer-friendly tools that help reduce call volume and alleviate repetitive, manual workflows."

"There is a renewed and intensified focus on economics, efficiencies and automation, and a cautious approach to limited application of AI to leverage less skilled and tedious tasks such as medical scribing."

"Healthcare organizations … should lean into the proven measurable results from applications such as machine learning and natural language processing."

These are some of the predictions from four healthcare information technology experts Healthcare IT News rounded up to offer readers thoughts on the year ahead.

Patty Riskind, CEO, Orbita

"The industry must show demonstrable progress in making healthcare as self-service as possible for patients," said Patty Riskind, CEO of Orbita, a vendor of smart virtual assistants and workflow automation for healthcare. "This will not only benefit patients but also help alleviate the administrative burden on clinicians and staff.

"While EHR vendors have long said they will incorporate digital tools within their systems, their development priorities, by necessity, must focus on compliance and regulatory updates.

"Forward-thinking provider organizations will more aggressively seek partners to augment their EHRs through fully integrated, consumer-friendly tools that help reduce call volume and alleviate repetitive, manual workflows, resulting in more efficient operations and enhanced staff and patient engagement."

Dr. David J. Sand, chief medical officer, ZeOmega

"Healthcare organizations across the care delivery spectrum are reckoning with the continued fallout from COVID, including staff burnout and staffing shortages, striking healthcare workers, and shifts in their revenue base," said Dr. David J. Sand, chief medical officer at ZeOmega, an enterprise healthcare management organization.

"There is a renewed and intensified focus on economics, efficiencies and automation, and a cautious approach to limited application of AI to leverage less skilled and tedious tasks such as medical scribing.

"Last year, I predicted we would see an increase in M&A activity involving highly leveraged healthcare tech companies, many of which, while having impressive intellectual capital, had yet to create margins or revenue streams to substantiate their valuations.

"We are now seeing these companies, from insurtechs to AI-driven vendors, simply shuttering their operations, leaving others in the field to 'hold the bag.'"

Dr. Emad Rizk, chairman, president and CEO, Cotiviti

"Healthcare is under significant pressure and change following the COVID-19 public health emergency, specifically a workforce shortage and increasing costs from wage increases and inflation," said Dr. Emad Rizk, chairman, president and CEO of Cotiviti, a vendor of advanced technology and data analytics for healthcare organizations. "The industry is responding to these pressures by looking at ways technology can improve productivity and the quality of care delivery.

"As healthcare organizations look at these new technologies, they should take a measured approach while leaning into the proven measurable results from other applications such as machine learning and natural language processing.

"These technologies must be guided by human medical and investigative expertise, and nationally accepted guidelines by medical societies and academies. Technology can never work in a vacuum without human judgement and clinical expertise.

"In 2024, as the industry continues to explore and adopt various forms of new technologies presented to them, health plans must weigh the opportunities and risks as they develop a rigorous approach to their application, focusing on how they can help to maximize effectiveness – and always deploying them alongside human expertise, with appropriate safeguards to ensure compliance while improving value."

Rajesh Subramaniam, managing director and CEO, ResultsCX

"The healthcare landscape is undergoing a significant transformation driven by the growing emphasis on patient engagement and empowerment," said Rajesh Subramaniam, managing director and CEO of ResultsCX, a vendor of customer experience management systems. "Research cited in Forbes indicates 80% of consumers are inclined to connect with and remain loyal to brands that offer personalized experiences."

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