The Accenture Executive Survey on AI in Healthcare indicates that health executives show an encouragingly high enthusiasm for AI technology adoption. Interviews were conducted with executives in six European and Asia-Pacific countries. While enthusiastic about its benefits, the executives are appropriately cautious about which kinds of AI they’re adopting, and how they’re implementing it.

To what extent is your organisation currently focused on increasing its proportion of AI-assisted applications?

While the popular press sensationalises AI somewhat, healthcare executives and organisations are more cautious. Operational areas, less likely to cause anxiety among patients and clinicians, are preceding more clinical, life-critical functions in terms of adoption. This approach shows wisdom and could help to limit the disappointment phase often present when new technologies are oversold to the market.

To what extent have you realised value in the following areas as a result of your application of AI?

Given the early successes and enthusiasm for AI among health executives, one may wonder why even more AI projects aren’t underway. A second important fact revealed by the survey is that people skills are the most important key to AI success, and insufficient skills represent the greatest obstacle to AI adoption and implementation.

All polled areas (including clinical and patient experience) are expected to enjoy substantial benefits in the next three years, but significant transformative benefits during that time are likely to be limited to operational areas. Increased cybersecurity (45 percent of respondents), operational efficiency (33 percent), improved analytical capabilities (30 percent) and cost savings (21 percent), are the four areas expected to experience most transformational improvement.

To what extend do you expect to realise value from AI over the next three years?" Substantial/Transformational benefit" responses

Healthcare’s Iron Triangle has traditionally meant that costs inevitably went up as access and effectiveness were improved. Kaveh Safavi explains how AI provides the first real lever which can be pulled to improve access and effectiveness, without the usual increase in cost.