How artificial intelligence is changing the health sector
A doctor working with a modern virtual screen. Artificial intelligence will have many uses, including fraud detection.
What you need to know:
- AI as an emerging technology offers the healthcare space a unique advantage to make the complex simplified
- With AI-based fraud detection, fraudulent claims can be evaluated and flagged before they are paid
The potential applications of artificial intelligence (AI) in the healthcare sector in Kenya are broad and far-reaching, insiders say.
From scanning radiological images for early detection to predicting outcomes from electronic health records, the opportunities are immense. This means that the correct application of AI in healthcare will bring ground-breaking results.
These range from reshaping the way healthcare providers diagnose, treatment offered and monitoring of patients.
According to Collin Musonye, the director for software engineering at M-Tiba, a medical costs saving platform, AI as an emerging technology offers the healthcare space a unique advantage to make the complex simplified.
He notes that AI will greatly build adaptable and scalable models that simplify interactions between patients, healthcare providers and insurers easing communication and information flow.
Currently, the healthcare ecosystem is engulfed in a vicious cycle, access to care is limited, insurance penetration is significantly lower, and individuals are not empowered to access protection against the uncertainties of future health outcomes.
“AI and digital technologies enable us to automate functions in health like insurance claims automation and administration, a key factor that significantly makes healthcare and insurance costs higher,” Mr Musonye told Healthy Nation.
He added that with AI-based fraud detection, fraudulent claims can be evaluated and flagged before they are paid. This will then help in reducing the costs for insurance providers and consumers.
“Enhancing efficiency in healthcare with digital technology, brings the cost of administering care down, thereby making healthcare affordable and accessible to more people.”
Embracing AI, Dr Musonye said, has greatly helped M-Tiba to give consumers more personalised and simplified experiences.
“Embracing AI gives us the opportunity to automate and even simplify our customers’ journeys and interactions with our products and services, simplifying an industry that is traditionally complex.
Artificial intelligence offers the healthcare sector an opportunity to build scalable and adaptable models that meet the ever-changing consumer needs.
In the current healthcare system, patients need to access care whenever they need it, at a cost they can afford. This causes a need for providers to be operationally efficient.
