Expect these healthcare trends in 2024

If 2023 marked the era of explosive advancements in generative AI tools, then 2024 is poised to be the year when healthcare leaders harness these innovations to redefine the industry’s future. With a focus on leveraging AI tools to improve revenue cycles, operational efficiency, and patient care, the coming year promises significant strides in health equity, and workforce shortages. 

DHI reached out to leading healthcare experts, and here’s their predictions on what will shape the industry in 2024: 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML)  for operational efficiency and enhanced patient care

• Mid-revenue cycle optimization: 

“The healthcare mid-revenue cycle represents our industry’s most valuable opportunity to apply AI, machine learning, and other intelligent automation in healthcare organizations (HCOs). Amid increasing rates of payer denials, 2024 is the year for providers to actively engage AI within the mid-revenue cycle as an essential strategy to preserve margin, reduce operational costs, and address workforce gaps. 

“Payers and health plans are ahead of providers in the use of AI, ML and other intelligent tools. 2024 is the year for providers to catch up, with mid-revenue cycle processes prime candidates for technology investments.”

Matt Zubiller, CEO, e4health

• Streamlining revenue cycle management

“In 2024, AI, ML and other automated decision engines will streamline revenue cycle management processes with a major impact on reducing denials and eliminating manual work processes in real time. The healthcare revenue cycle is the “low hanging fruit” for taking advantage of these technologies and improving healthcare business outcomes. For example, two areas of specific interest for TruBridge are leveraging AI tools to automate tailored appeal letters during denial management and digitizing prior authorizations.

“However, the revenue cycle workforce must be fully prepared to adopt intelligent automation in order for health systems to realize value from these technology investments. Look for health systems to invest in upskilling and reskilling their financial teams as we implement new ways to increase efficiency and productivity in 2024.” 

Patrick Murphy, Senior Vice President, TruBridge

• Disease prediction and management

“We will see the adoption of AI-powered predictive models, combined with remote monitoring systems to detect and address early warning signs of disease. These tools will be critical for lessening the financial burden of an aging population and chronic conditions, and in shifting our focus to improving quality of life and wellbeing.

 “2024 will bring further research into how generative AI can be used within healthcare to integrate years of medical knowledge and experience into a single tool. These discussions will focus on the technology’s safety and ensuring that patient data is protected prior to any large-scale adoptions.

 “Health providers and health systems will continue responding to staff shortages through technology. AI-powered tools in cardiology, radiology and neurology have already augmented physician capabilities and decision makers will continue to turn to AI to reduce costs and continue providing quality care.”

Prof. Eyal Zimlichman, Chief Transformation Officer and Chief Innovation Officer at Sheba Medical Center and Director and Founder of ARC Innovation.

• Health equity and personalized medicine

“The year 2024 and beyond will see a transformative impact of AI as it enhances healthcare accessibility, narrowing the divide between urban hubs and underserved communities. The integration of telemedicine and AI-driven virtual assistants will guarantee high-quality care for everyone, irrespective of their geographic location. The patient experience will undergo a transformation through personalized treatment plans and AI-powered virtual assistants, placing a renewed emphasis on patient well-being and empowering individuals to manage their health proactively. 

“Moreover, AI-driven algorithms will equip healthcare providers to intervene at the earliest stages, averting illnesses and preserving numerous lives. AI is poised to emerge as the ultimate collaborative partner, seamlessly working alongside physicians, nurses, and researchers to enhance their capabilities and furnish unprecedented actionable insights that will change the face of healthcare and medicine.”

Eliran Malki, CEO of Belong.Life

“Rapid advancements with AI, machine learning, and large language models, coupled with growing adoption of remote monitoring tools that are enabling more preventive home-based, personalized care — as well as an understanding of the growing population of patients (and rising costs) that are now facing complex diabetes, especially minority populations — will push healthcare to embrace precision medicine for diabetes.

“Personalization and prevention will be paramount to the healthcare industry’s ability to improve patient outcomes for those living with diabetes — while reducing the total costs of diabetes care in 2024 and beyond.”

Jon Bloom, MD, CEO Podimetrics 

• Evolution of medical coding from revenue management to clinical tool

“One of my predictions for 2024 is a fundamental shift in how healthcare providers – and payers for that matter – are approaching coding. Today, medical coding is primarily used as a tool to expedite revenue cycle management so providers can receive accurate reimbursement for care provided to patients in a timely fashion. As intelligent technologies – like AI, ML, NLP, and LLM – evolve and advance with warp speed in 2024, the role of medical coding is ripe for expansion.

“In 2024, I believe we’ll start to see innovative healthcare providers looking to not only automate more medical coding but, more importantly for patients, look at medical coding and the data behind it as a key tool to optimize population health initiatives and fuel areas such as clinical research. Essentially, transitioning medical coding as a tool for RCM to a powerful clinical lever to be used in the move to value-driven, personalized care.”

Hamid Tabatabaie, President and CEO, CodaMetrix

Interoperability and data management

While emerging AI capabilities skyrocket healthcare into the future, interoperability challenges limit potential progress. Healthcare at home has become increasingly important since the pandemic, but as we move into 2024, healthcare leaders warn that improving interoperability is paramount

• Creating reliable virtual care infrastructures

“The promise of virtual care is enticing, but the path to unlocking its full ROI potential is fraught with complexities. Facing a multitude of hurdles when trying to integrate virtual care into their existing frameworks, health systems must ensure both the quality and affordability of their virtual care delivery platform. To navigate this landscape most effectively, we’ll see more of a focus on interoperability. 

“In addition to increased workload, errors, inefficiencies, the lack of interoperability leads to clinician burden and frustration when providers can’t easily locate or transfer clinical data. In the context of virtual care delivery, data entry redundancy can hinder the cost-savings potential of the model. To ensure affordable virtual care delivery, health systems need to critically evaluate their data management processes in the coming year.”

Dr. Brad Younggren, President & Chief Medical Officer, Care Innovation  

• Improving payer-provider interoperability

“Look for payers and providers to embrace new processes, procedures, and technology in 2024 to transform how they exchange information and patient data across healthcare’s billing, reimbursement, and audit processes. Innovation in payer-provider data exchange is desperately needed to reduce administrative burdens in healthcare and push both stakeholders towards greater collaboration and productivity.

“This evolution will give payers more efficient and timely access to information while enabling providers to keep pace with the escalating volume of record requests. The longstanding challenges in payer-provider interoperability will be overcome, striking a delicate balance that fosters trust in the payer-provider relationship.”

Matt Wildman, Chief Commercial Officer, MRO