Three-quarters of the nation’s healthcare providers and payers say they have increased their IT spending over the past year, according to a report released Tuesday by Bain & Company and KLAS Research.
The report predicted that this trend will only continue. It was based on a survey of 150 providers and payers across the U.S.
“Payers and providers are continuing to place a premium on technology, a sentiment that has become increasingly true in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Eric Berger, partner in Bain’s healthcare & life sciences and private equity practice, said in a statement. “While the focus on ROI has increased, we’re also finding these organizations are more inclined to experiment with technology, especially with advanced solutions, such as AI and natural language processing, to improve outcomes.”
The cyberattack Change Healthcare suffered in February has influenced both providers and payers to ramp up their investment for cybersecurity technology, the report stated. Roughly 70% of organizations included in the report said they were directly affected by the event.
Organizations are spending more time and money on things like auditing internal systems, deploying endpoint protection solutions and scaling security awareness training programs. Change Healthcare’s cyberattack has also led to a greater focus on reviewing single points of vulnerability, with leaders allocating some of their budgets toward improving redundancy around critical systems in the IT stack, according to the report.
When it comes to AI, providers are increasing their spending. About 15% of providers said they have an AI strategy, up from the 5% of providers that reported the same last year, the report showed. Payers’ AI investments have remained mostly the same as last year, with about a quarter reporting they have an established AI strategy.
Much of providers’ AI adoption has centered around clinical workflow optimization. For example, they are deploying tools that reduce administrative burden, such as those that generate clinical note drafts, and tools that improve revenue cycle management, such as those that automate prior authorization.
As for payers, the report showed that care coordination and utilization management tools are gaining traction. These tools allow payers to determine which members are high-risk, connect care episodes across providers and settings, and ensure that care is cost-effective.
Payers are also investing more in tools that improve the claims processing and payment process, as well as tools focused on quality management and risk adjustment, according to the report.
The majority of payers said they are focusing on streamlining their tech stacks and prioritizing existing vendors rather than introducing new vendors to their ecosystem, the report noted.
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