Technological innovation has been one of the biggest hallmarks of the 21st century. Anything related to computers, phones, and the internet has gone from niche interests to a daily part of life for the majority of the U.S. population. However, in more recent years, the capability and spread of technology have been nearly unrivaled. One of the cornerstones of modern technological innovation has been artificial intelligence (AI).
A large number of users rely on AI in their day-to-day lives. When it comes to business, the applications are even more palpable. Anything from social media applications to market analysis contains traces of AI. When it comes to the medical industry, AI is quickly finding its place in patient reception.
Underutilizing AI
Currently, AI is being used as a substitute for automation, which is a drastic underutilization of the technology. While automations are more rudimentary and have strict programming, an AI system or program autonomously performs a task on behalf of a human. Within this capacity, AI has much greater capabilities and flexibility in completing these tasks. AI can autonomously complete tasks and improve its performance based on its previous outcomes. Most importantly, this process can be done entirely without human input, making AI an incredible tool for productivity and multitasking. So, what exactly can AI do in practice?
One of the most useful abilities of AI is the ability to quickly capture and verify insurance information. Just about every customer is asked whether they have insurance, and entering that information can be tedious and a hassle for office workers. However, with insurance ID cards or a referral order, AI can quickly scan and extract insurance information in mere seconds. After extracting this information, AI accesses the insurer’s custom portal to verify every customer’s specific benefit information. Even better, AI can verify benefits that regular automation cannot. Rather than requiring an officer worker, AI itself is able to voice call insurance company representatives to verify benefit information not otherwise available on the portal.
AI’s numerous benefits for medical professionals
However, once an AI verifies insurance information, it’s only getting started. AI can estimate out-of-pocket expenses for a patient’s visit and proactively submit prior authorization requests based on the reason for the visit. It even tracks its prior authorization requests in a spreadsheet, allowing healthcare staff to easily follow the current status of these requests. Not only does this save healthcare staff effort, but it also enables these requests to be processed more quickly on average.
Best of all, the nature of AI makes it easy to integrate into a wide variety of tasks. AI can file and index payer correspondence letters, lab requisition forms, and other inbound documents. It can further manage and fulfill certain inbound documents, such as referral and prescription refill requests. This not only saves time but also helps workers reinvest that effort into patient care and satisfaction.
Because of how useful AI is, 71% of healthcare workers think that an AI agent in healthcare will be essential to healthcare systems in just five years. But the benefits are not a long-term investment; they are something you will see immediately. It is estimated that around 50 hours are saved weekly after implementing agentic AI. This leads to a 20% increase in overall revenue and between 40% to 70% cost savings.
Most importantly, time and money saved can be reinvested into patient care. By allowing your staff more breathing room, they can more quickly develop care plans, diagnose conditions more quickly, and spend more time face-to-face with clients. All of these benefits result in better working conditions for employees and higher overall patient satisfaction.
Because of how much utility AI has, it’s no wonder that as many as 66% of physicians have tried out AI in their practices as of 2024. Despite this, less than 1% of all enterprise software applications include agentic AI. So why is such a useful technology so scarce?
Put simply, the market has yet to catch up with the demand. It’s estimated that by 2028, that proportion will balloon to a third of all applications. The current problem with AI is that it’s not quite adapted to the medical field.
HIPAA compliance
Most AI systems are not HIPAA compliant, which is a major concern. Additionally, most AI are ‘public-facing’, which means they can only access publicly available information. This is a major hindrance for AI that needs to access personally sensitive and highly guarded information.
Fortunately, not all AI systems suffer from these shortcomings. Most notably, Orbit Healthcare’s AI is an exception. This AI is both HIPAA-compliant and easily integrable into healthcare systems because it was built with the healthcare industry in mind. Ultimately, healthcare is a fast-paced industry driven by good intentions. If you want to help your healthcare staff get back to helping patients, agentic AI is the best way to go.
Brian Wallace is the Founder and President of NowSourcing, an industry-leading content marketing agency that makes your complexity simple, visual, and influential. Brian was named a Google Small Business Advisor from 2016 to present, served on the SXSW Advisory Board from 2019 to 2022, and became an SMB Advisor for Lexmark in 2023. He is the Founder of Innovate Summit, which enters its 3rd year in May 2026.
Photo courtesy Galina Nelyubova for Unsplash+
