3 Ways Artificial Intelligence Can be Used to Improve Health Equity

If a health insurance company’s risk pool is warped toward people who are very sick and don’t have decent access to healthcare, it’s going to make that health plan a lot less profitable, increasing premiums for everyone. Artificial intelligence (AI) technology and algorithms can help us bridge this health equity gap. Here are three ways we can apply this technology to help solve the health inequity problem in America and around the world. AI technology can help these systems sort through that data to understand exactly where providers should focus to get the best ROI for positive patient outcomes. AI technology can help providers make better decisions on where to invest, build and allocate resources more effectively to close the disparities. This type of technology provides a more strategic view that helps managers and executives answer the question, “do I have the right skill sets and resources to meet my health equity challenges?”  If not, do I need to shift certain resources (e.g. Spanish speaking doctors) to other clinics and patients, or do I need to invest in new approaches (e.g. telehealth) or partnerships (e.g. taxi company, local churches) that help me to better treat each patient? AI can make the entire healthcare system more efficient and effective at identifying and solving these inequity issues. The healthcare industry can’t solve the equity problem alone — we need partnerships. When healthcare companies partner with the private technology sector, it helps us think outside of the industry about what’s cutting edge — like new AI-driven technology — and how we can apply it to healthcare. When healthcare companies partner with local community leaders, we can effect real change within a hard-to-reach population.