TACKLING

HEALTHCARE’SLABOR

CRISIS

withAIsolutions

Featuringinsightsfroma2024commissionedglobalstudy

conductedbyForresterConsultingonbehalfofSoftServe

By:PeterM.Burns

EXECUTIVESUMMARY

IsGenerativeAI(GenAI)thesolutiontohealthcare’slaborcrisis?Rightnow,oneofthebiggest

challengesinhealthcareistoattractandretainstaffinatoughjobmarket.Theseshortagesripplethroughthesystem,leadingtostaffburnout,higherturnoverrates,andultimatelycompromisingthequalityofpatientcare.AdvocatesbelieveGenAIcouldalleviatetheburdenoftime-consumingadministrativetasksandincreaseregularcommunicationwithpatients—twocriticalareasof

concernforhealthcareprofessionals(HCPs).

Yet,GenAI’sadoptioninhealthcareisslowerthaninotherfields.Thereasonsincludestringent

regulatoryrequirements,concernsoverdataprivacyandsecurity,andtheneedforexceptionalreliabilitytoensurepatientsafety,amongothers.Despitethesechallenges,healthcarecompaniesfindinnovativeapplicationsforAItechnology.

A2024commissionedglobalstudyconductedbyForresterConsultingonbehalfofSoftServeshowswherehealthcarecompaniesarelookingforvalue,howtheydefinesuccess,andtheirstrategiesforacceleratingadoption.

Highlightsfromthe2024study:

ImprovingoperationalefficiencyranksamongthetopthreegoalsforGenAI,with60%ofrespondentsrankingitastheirtoppriority.

Enhancingresearchanddevelopment(R&D)isanotherprimarygoalfor62%ofrespondents,withafocusontestingnewtreatmentsandtechnologies.Softwaredevelopmentfollows

closelyat60%.

53%seegreatvalueinusingGenAIforoperations,while52%recognizesimilarbenefitsinsupplychainmanagement.

Whileaddressingworkforcechallengesisakeyindustrychallenge,concernsaboutimprovingemployeeexperienceandmanagingriskarelower,withjustoverathirdveryconcerned.

WhenaskedaboutthebiggestreasonfornotimplementingGenAIsolutions,nearly47%citedariskofprivacyanddatafinesastheirtopconcern.

We’llstartbyansweringafewquestions:CanAIsimplifyhealthcareadministration?Howmuchcoulditsave?IfAIhassomuchpotential,whyisn’titmorewidelyused?

ReportTacklingHealthcare’sLaborCrisiswithAISolutions2

CANAISIMPLIFYHEALTHCAREADMINISTRATION?

HealthcareleadersarecuriousabouthowAIwillsimplifyandimproveprocesses.However,AI

adoptioninhealthcareisslowerthaninotherindustries,despitethepotentialtosavemoreonU.S.healthcarecosts.ArecentstudyfromtheNationalBureauofEconomicResearch(NBER)shows

thathealthcaremaybemoreefficient,costinglessanddeliveringbettercare,andthatAIiskeytothisimprovement.

HealthcareproductivityintheU.S.maybeimprovedintwoways.First,administrativecosts,whichaccountforabout25%oftotalhealthcarespending,needtobeaddressed.AIautomationwillhelplessenthisburden.Second,medicalknowledgeadvancessofastthatonly6%ofwhatnewdoctorslearninmedicalschoolwillstillberelevantinadecade.AIwillofferimportantclinicaldatawhencliniciansneeditduringdiagnosisandotherimportantstagesofcare.

Exampleofahospitaldomaincalculation:qualityandsafety

$1,192B

Hospitalrevenue

$96B

HospitalEBIT

$1,096B

Total

hospitalcosts

$508B

Medicalcosts,labor

2%-4%$15B-$25B

Rangeofnetsavingsforqualityandsafetydomain

Totalnetsavingsfordomain

$338B

Medicalcosts,nonlabor

$60B-$120B

Totalnetopportunityacross

$250B

Administrativecosts

allhospitaldomainswithinthenextfiveyearsusingtoday's

technologieswithoutsacrificingqualityoraccess

Source:TheNationalBureauofEconomicResearchWorkingPaper:"ThePotentialImpactofArtificialIntelligenceonHealthcare

Spending“Oct.2023

Howmuchcoulditsave?

billioneachyearoverthenextfiveyears(2023-2028).TheseestimatesarebasedonpracticalAI

Th

eNBERreportfoundthatusingAI

inU.S.healthcaremaysavebetween$200billionto$360

usecasesachievablewithcurrenttechnology,ensuringqualityandaccessarenotcompromised.

Hospitalsmaysave$60billionto$120billionannuallywithinfiveyearsusingtoday’stechnologieswithoutsacrificingquality.

Privatepayersmayseeannualsavingsof$80billionto$110billionoverthenextfiveyears.

Physiciangroupsmayreducecostsby3%to8%,translatingto$20billionto$60billioninsavings.

ReportTacklingHealthcare’sLaborCrisiswithAISolutions3

couldsavethehealthcareindust

ry$150billionby2025,

mostlyusedtodealwiththecomplexity

andgrowthofmedicaldata.Butsavingmoneyispartofthestory;itsignifiesashifttowardmore

efficientandeffectivehealthcare.Attheheartofthisvalue-basedapproachisthehealthcare

workforce.Andthatbringsustothethirdquestion:IfAIhassomuchpotential,whyisn’titmore

widelyused?

Administrativeprocesses:Backin2018,expertsestimatedthatAIandcognitivecomputing

IFAIHASSOMUCHPOTENTIALINHEALTHCARE,WHYISN’TITMOREWIDELYUSED?

Whilefinancialsavingsareimportant,thehumanelementinAItransformationmattersequally.Youneedtoconsiderhowemployeesintegratetechnologies,adapttonewprocesses,andinteractwithAIsystems.AlltheseconsiderationsfactorintotheadoptionofAIinhealthcare.

TheAMAconducted

acomprehensivestudyof

over1,000physicians’viewsontheuseofaugmentedintelligenceinhealthcare.Itcoveredcurrentuse,futuremotivations,concerns,and

potentialforadoption.TheAMAdeliberatelyuses"augmentedintelligence"toemphasizethatthesetoolssupportratherthanreplacehumandecision-making.TheAMAstudyfoundthatphysiciansarecurrentlyusingorplanningtouseAItoolsthatfocusonreducingadministrativeburdens.

38%ofphysicianscurrentlyuseaugmentedintelligenceintheirpracticefordocumentation,translation,anddiagnoses.

56%believeaugmentedintelligencewillsignificantlycutdownadministrativetasksthroughautomation.

TheAMAstudyalsohighlightsthetopareaswherephysiciansplantoimplementaugmented

intelligenceinthenextfiveyears:generatepatientmessages(40%haveplans),summarizecharts(39%haveplans),andpredictdemandandworkforceneeds(43%haveplans).

However,adoptingaugmentedintelligencerequiresresourcesandsupport.Crucialfactorsincludedataprivacyassurances,protectionsfromliabilityforaugmentedintelligencemodelerrors,andmalpracticeinsurancecoverage.

WORKFORCECHALLENGESHOLDTHESECTORBACK

andphysicianburnout

.TheBureauofLaborStatisticspr

ojects:

Theshortageofhealthcareworkersisaseriousproblem,madeworsebytheCOVID-19pandemic

194,50037%

shortageofnursesby2031.increaseinopeningsforhomehealthaidesand

personalhealthaidesby2028.

Accordingtoa

2024AAMCreport,t

henationmayfaceaphysicianshortageofupto86,000by2036.

THEREASONDOCTORSLEAVE

Physicianburnoutisamajorpublichealthissuethatcanleadtodepressionandotherconcerningmentalhealthconditions.The2024MedscapePhysicianBurnoutandDepressionReportshowsthat49%ofdoctorsreportfeelingburnedout,and20%feeldepressed.Althoughthisisdownfromahighof68%in2021,nearlyhalfofdoctorsstillsufferfromburnout.Eighty-threepercentlinktheirburnoutdirectlytotheirjobs.

Doctorssaybureaucratictaskslikechartingandpaperworkarethebiggestculprits.Nearlytwo-

thirds(62%)ofdoctorsciteadministrativeworkastheirmainsourceofstress,while41%feelthey’re

simplyworkingtoomuch.Assumingafive-dayworkweek,expertsestimatedthatU.S.physicians

spent125millionhoursdocumentingoutsideofficehoursin2019,perastudy

publishedinJAMA.

Burnoutcoststhehealthcaresystemaround$4.6billioneachyearduetoturnoverandreducedhoursamongprimarycarephysicians.

Onaverage,burnoutcostseachphysicianabout$7,600,withestimatesrangingfrom$3,700to$11,000.

Areductioninthesourceoftheseadministrativetasks,andtheintegrationoftherightinformationintotherightworkflowsattherighttimecouldsignificantlyimprovethesituationforproviders.

Healthcarecompaniesmustsupporttheirworkers,addressburnout,andconsiderAIasapossiblesolution.

Accordingt

oCBInsights,ambientAI—

technologythatautomaticallydocumentsclinicalinteractions—presentsa$4.6billionopportunityinhealthcare.

PhysiciansalreadyseeAIasahelpfulshift—lessaboutstartingeverytaskfromscratchandmoreaboutrefiningwhattheAIhasalreadyprepared.Ittakessomeofthementalloadoff,givingthemmoretimeandenergytofocusontheworkthatmatters.

ReportTacklingHealthcare’sLaborCrisiswithAISolutions5

AmbientAIapplicationsinhealthcaredelivery

Homehealth

1.Monitoringofactivitiesofdailyliving

2.Preventionoffall/falldetection

3.Homerehabilitation

Homehealthoptimization

Decreasingphysicianburnout

1.EHRnavigation

2.Dataretrieval

3.EHRdocumentation

4.Virtualassistant

Outpatientclinics

AmbientAl

<

>

Inpatienthospitalcare

I.ICU:

PreventdatafatigueInfectioncontrol

Monitoringofpatientmobilization

2.Operatingrooms:Surgicalcount

Surgicaltraining

Hospitaljourney

ADDRESSWORKFORCEISSUESWITHGENAI

GenAIcouldsolvemajorworkforceissuesforHCPsandcliniciansandprovidevalueby:

Savingtime

Automatingdatasynthesisletscliniciansfocusmoreonpatientcare.

Improvingpatientoutcomes

Quickaccesstocomprehensiveinformationhelpscliniciansmakemoreinformeddecisions.

Reducingerrors

Well-organized,relevantinformationreducestheriskofdiagnosticandtreatmenterrors.

Enhancingoperationalefficiency

Improveddatasummarizationimprovestheefficiencyofhealthcaredelivery.

ReportTacklingHealthcare’sLaborCrisiswithAISolutions6

ReportTacklingHealthcare’sLaborCrisiswithAISolutions7

HOSPITALAIDOMAINSANDEXAMPLEUSECASES

Source:TheNationalBureauofEconomicResearchWorkingPaper:"ThePotentialImpactofArtificialIntelligenceonHealthcare

Spending“Oct.2023

AIhasmanyhigh-potentialusestoalleviateworkloadpressures,supportoverburdenedstaff,

andimprovejobsatisfaction.Forexample,themostpromisingusecasesinclinicaloperationscouldimproveoperatingroomcapacity,saveclinicalstafftime,andoptimizesupplychains.Thisobviouslywouldgivephysiciansandstaffmoretimetofocusonpatientcare.

Whencompaniesfocusonlyonfinancialfactors,theymayoverlookthebroaderstrategicvalueofAIinhelpingtoreducethehoursspentinadministration,andthebenefitsofahappierandmorestableworkforce.Whentheyconsiderthetotalmissionvalue—includingexperience,process

efficiency,andimprovementsacrosstheadministrativelandscape—thecaseforadoptingAIbecomesstronger.

RESULTSFROM2024GLOBALSTUDY

Findingsfroma2024commission

edglobalstudyc

onductedbyForresterConsultingonbehalfofSoftServeshowhowAIisexpectedtobeanimportantagentofchange,especiallyinoperationalefficiency.

60%91%

ImprovingoperationalefficiencyranksamongthetopthreegoalsforGenAI.Sixtypercentofhealthcarerespondentssayit'stheirtoppriority.

Lookingahead,91%believethattheneedforGenAItoimproveoperationalefficiencywillgrowinthenext12to18months.

TheMostImportantGenAlGoalsinHealthcareTODAY

62%

60%

ImprovingresearchanddevelopmentImprovingsoftwaredevelopment

60%

Improvingoperationalefficiency

57%

Improvingbusinessstrategy

53%

53%

41%

38%

Improvingriskmanagement/regulationcomplianceImprovingcustomerengagement ImprovingemployeeexperienceImprovingsales

GenAlGoalsin12-18Months

Improvingoperationalefficiency

37%

54%

Improvingcustomerengagement Improvingsoftwaredevelopment ImprovingemployeeexperienceImprovingresearchanddevelopment

Improvingriskmanagement/regulationcomplianceImprovingbusinessstrategyImprovingsales

48%

42%

44%

43%

44%

42%

47%

40%

46%

37%

51%

31%

41%

37%

Moreimportant

Muchmoreimportant

ReportTacklingHealthcare’sLaborCrisiswithAISolutions8

IMPROVINGTHEEMPLOYEEEXPERIENCEISALSOAGROWINGGOAL

ImprovingtheemployeeexperienceisnotatoppriorityforGenAIrightnow,withonly41%listingitasamaingoal.

However,achangeisexpectedinthenext12to18months.About86%ofrespondentsbelieveitsimportancewillrise.Thislikelycomesfromagrowingawarenessthatpositiveemployee

experiencesarevitalforthesuccessofanyhealthcareorganization,andthatGenAIcanhelpimproveemployeeexperiences,leadingtohigherretentionandmorale.

Prioritiesvarybyindustry.Forexample,inlifesciences,51%ofrespondentsidentifiedimprovingemployeeexperienceasatopgoaltoday,comparedtoanaverageof44%inallindustries.

ImprovingresearchanddevelopmentImprovingsoftwaredevelopment ImprovingoperationalefficiencyImprovingbusinessstrategy

Improvingriskmanagement/regulationcomplianceImprovingcustomerengagement

62%

54%

42%

60% 54%

53%

60%

52%

43%

51%

57%

57%

53%

46%

42%

53%

53%

55%

41%

44%

51%

Improvingemployeeexperience

Improvingsales

38%

38%

30%

Healthcare

Averageforallindustries

Lifesciences

TODAY’SVALUE

ValueHarvesting

Operations

53%

35%

13%

9%

52%

39%

48%

12%

40%

48%

40%

12%

Supplychain OfficeoftheCEOResearchanddevelopment

9%

47%

49%

14%

44%

42%

41%

42%

17%

16%

40%

43%

Customerexperience/customerserviceIT/softwaredevelopment LegalandcomplianceMarketingandsales

43%

39%

17%

Finance

20%

45%

35%

Employeeexperience/HR

21%

51%

27%

Ecosystemmanagement

Low

Moderate

Significant

Inthe2024study,thequestionsshiftedtothevaluegeneratedfromGenAIinhealthcarecompanies.Here’swhatstoodout:

>>>53%48%

Operationsandsupplychaindepartmentssawthehighestreturnoninvestment.

ofrespondentsreportedsignificantvalueinoperations,while52%notedsimilarbenefitsinsupplychainmanagement.

ofrespondentsreportedsignificantvalueinR&D.

Surprisingly,employeeexperienceisoneareawherecompaniesseetheleastvalue.Only35%ofrespondentsfoundsignificantvalueintheirGenAIemployeeexperienceinitiatives,while20%felttheygainedlittlevalue.Thisrevealsamissedopportunity.UsingGenAItoenhancetheemployeeexperiencecansimultaneouslyimprovedailyoperations,butthisisnotalwaysconsideredinthevalue.

What’sholdingcompaniesback?Itoftencomesdowntoafewissues:lackoftraininginthetools,poorintegrationwithcurrentworkflows,unclearcommunicationaboutthebenefits,oragap

betweentechnologyandwhatemployeesneed.

ReportTacklingHealthcare’sLaborCrisiswithAISolutions10

Intoday’sjobmarket,companiesmustcompetetoattractthebestpeople.Amodernwork

environmentwithefficientoperationsisimportantforbothrecruitmentandretention.Inourhealthcareenvironments,thesefactorsandemployeesatisfactionmaybeimportanttothecreationofpositivepatientoutcomesaswell.

RESPONDENTSIDENTIFYGREATESTAIRISKS

47%

Privacyanddataconcerns/fines

UseofunsanctionedGenAlleadingtosecurityrisks

InabilitytorealizevaluefromGenAlinvestmentsovertheshortterm

InabilitytorealizevaluefromGenAlinvestmentsoverthelongterm

16%

GenAlhallucinationDecreasedemployeesatisfactionDecreasedemployeeproductivityFallingbehindcompetitors

Lossofrevenueopportunities

Displacementofjobs

Myorganizationdoesn'tfaceanyimplicationsasaresultofnotaddressingtheseconcerns

40%

37%

25%

30%

28%

25%

25%

15%

0%

Healthcare

Averageforallindustries

Lifesciences

ImplementingGenAIinthetightlyregulatedhealthcaresectorisachallenge.Patientinformationissensitive,sodatasecurityisessential.Surveyresponsesreflectthisconcern.

Respondentspinpointedprivacyanddatasecurityrisksastheirprimaryworries,indicativeofthehigherneedfordatasecuritythaninotherindustries.Let’stakeacloserlookatthe2024study:

47%ofrespondentsareworriedaboutprivacy,dataprotection,andpotentialfines.40%ofrespondentsnotedthatusingunsanctionedGenAImaybringsecurityrisks.

Othertopconcernsincludehowtogainlong-termvaluefromGenAIinvestments(30%are

concerned)andGenAIhallucinations(28%areconcerned).Thesehallucinationsmayleadto

inaccuratediagnoses,inappropriatetreatmentrecommendations,andpotentialharmtopatients,allofwhichquicklyrepresentanunacceptablelevelofrisk.Notably,norespondentreported

feelingcompletelyateasewithimplementingGenAI.

ReportTacklingHealthcare’sLaborCrisiswithAISolutions11

Acallforcaution

Inclinicalsettings,usecasesexposeclinicianstoregulatoryorlegalrisks.TheFederalTrade

Commissionwarneditwilltakeactionagainstcompaniesthatrelaxdatapoliciestoaccessmorepatientinformation.Asanexample,theFTCaccusedagenetictestingcompanyofdeceptiveor

unfairpracticesbasedonchangestoitsprivacypolicy.Theupdatedpolicyallowedthemtoshareconsumers'datawithmorethirdpartieswithoutnotifyingorgainingconsentfromtheconsumerswhoseinformationwaspreviouslyinthedataset.

WHATARETHEDRIVERSOFGENAISUCCESS?

51%

42%

InvestindevelopinginternaltalentImprovedatastrategy

42%

41%

InvestinresearchanddevelopmentImproveabilitytooptimize/refineGenAllanguagemodelbeingused

41%

FindexternalpartnerswithgreaterabilitytoimplementandexecuteGenAl

38%

36%

32%

IncreaseinvestmentinGenAlPromoteinternalcultureofinnovationRefinevision/strategy

31%

Pilotadditionalusecases

0%

MyorganizationdoesnotplanonacceleratingGenAladoption

Technologygiveshealthcareorganizationsthetoolsneeded,butpeopletrulydriveresultsandlong-termsuccess.

The2024studyshowsthat51%ofrespondentsfromhealthcarecompaniesthinknurturinginternaltalentisthebestwaytospeedupGenAIadoption.Completingthetopthree:

42%thinkenhancingtheirdatastrategywillspeedupadoption.42%believeinvestinginR&Discrucialforsuccess.

41%believethatfindingexternalpartnerswhocaneffectivelyimplementGenAIinitiativeswillaccelerateadoption.

ToeffectivelyimplementGenAIinitiativesandincreasetheconfidenceleveloftheother59%,avendorwilllikelyhavetorepresentstrongR&Dcapabilities,experiencedAIimplementationspecialists,andalignmentwiththegoalsoftheimplementingorganization.

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ReportTacklingHealthcare’sLaborCrisisAISolutions13

EXPERIENCEEARLYSUCCESSWITHOPERATIONALUSECASES

SoftServebelievesleaderswillquicklyseebenefitsbystartingwit

hpractical,operationaluse

casesa

ndensuringtherightdatainfrastructureisinplacewithpropersecurityandprivacy.More

tipsforsuccess:

Buildtrustwithasolidfoundation:

High-qualitydataisessentialforsuccessfulAIapplications.FocusonpracticalusestoimprovedatamanagementandbuildconfidenceinAI.

Achievequickwins:

Startwithsmall,manageablegoalsliketaskautomationandworkflowimprovementsforfasterresults.Thissparksexcitementand

supportforbroaderAIadoption.

Reducerisksandsimplifyintegration:

Adoptpracticalapplicationstolowertherisksofmoderntechnologyandmakeiteasiertofitintoexistingworkflows.

Learnandimprove:

Earlyprojectsoffervaluablelessonsaboutdataquality,userneeds,andethicalconsiderations.TheseinsightswillhelpcreatebetterGenAI

toolsinthefuture.

Hereareafewusecasestoconsider:

Patientsummaries:Healthcareadministrativeprocessesareonerousandputa

significantburdenonprofessionals.ButGenAIsimplifiesthem.CurrentEHRtechnologies

automaticallygeneratenotesfromapatient’svisit.Futureadvancementswillimprovethe

system’sabilitytorecognizerelevantclinicaldetails,addhealthspecificstomedicalrecords,andtranslatehealthissuesintodiagnosesandbillingcodes.Theseimprovementslighten

theadministrativeloadonhealthcarestaffandimproveinteractionsbetweenprovidersandpatients.

Regulatorycompliance:GenAIstreamlinesregulatorycomplianceinhealthcare.The

industry’scomplexandchangingregulationsmakeitperfectforAImonitoring.Itfinds

changesintheregulatoryenvironment,analyzesnewrequirements,andinterpretsinternaldocumentstomaketheappropriateupdatestointernalpoliciesandprocedures.GenAIcanevenprovidematerialstohelpwithemployeechangemanagement.Thisgreatlyreducesthemanualworkrequiredtomaintaincompliance.

Caremanagement:GenAIsimplifiescaremanagementworkflows.Payersandproviders

analyzedatatofindusefultestsorpreventiveactions.AImakesiteasiertoorganizeand

interpretpatientdata.Asconclusionsaredrawnfromthedata,GenAIinterpretspatient

preferencesandcreatespersonalizedoutreachtoencouragepatientstotakechargeoftheirhealth.

Virtualagents:GenAIimprovesonlinecustomersupportwithfriendlyvirtualassistants.Itsimplifiesproductselectionusingsmart,personalizedrecommendationsandtransformscustomerservicewithinteractivedigitalavatarkiosks.

Contentcreation:GenAIspeedsupsoftwaredevelopmentbyautomaticallygeneratingcodefromnaturallanguageprompts.Itreducesideationanddraftingtimeforcontentcreatorsandgeneratespersonalizedproductlooksanddescriptionsbasedoncustomerpreferences.

TURNTOANEXPERIENCEDTECHNOLOGYPARTNER

IntegratingGenAIintothehealthcaresystemoffersachancetosavebillionsofdollarseachyear.However,highcostsandcompleximplementationmakewidespreadAIadoptionachallenge.

Privacyandsecurityaremajorconcernsandrequirestrongdataprotectionmeasures.Strategicimplementationmustfocusonhigh-value,low-riskusecases.Itneedstoalignwithorganizationalgoalsandinvolvepartnershipswithexperiencedtechnologyproviderstoensuresuccessful

integrationandmaximizebenefits.

Choosingtherighttechnologypartnerisimportant.Lookforapartnerwithprovenabilitiesandmethodologies,alongwithadeepunderstandingofAI'spotentialandlimitations.Apartnermustknowtheindustryandhavetheexperienceneededtohelpyou:

1Focusonspecific,high-value,low-riskusecasesthatdeliverbusinessvalue

2

Aligntheorganizationaroundtheincorporationoftheinnovativetechnology

3

Cleanandorganizeyourdata

4

IntegratedatasourcesbeforefeedingthemtotheGenAImodel

5Adheretoregulatorys