While Artificial Intelligence (AI) in healthcare is certainly dominating the HIT trade media these days, the reality is that top healthcare executives have bigger priorities.

According to a recent Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) survey, medical group leaders reported that EHR usability was the top HIT priority. When it comes to EHR usability, improving interoperability rose to the top with a key focus on transitioning to a unified EHR and enhancing health data exchange between locations.

Improving quality reporting and enhancing exchange with health payers were other key health data exchange priorities. Overall, in the survey, patient communications and access, as well as revenue cycle management (RCM) and billing systems, were priorities that beat out AI.

When it comes to AI, implementation of these technological tools still appears to be a longer-term effort for many medical groups. The study highlighted how only one in 10 medical groups use AI tools on a regular basis, and one in five medical groups added or expanded use of AI tools.

The reason for this slower adoption of AI is that many healthcare leaders either don’t have the data scientist talent to build their own AI models or just remain cautious in how to approach these new tools.

AI in healthcare is certainly a topic that we have been covering throughout 2023. From the benefits and dangers of AI to how to ethically harness AI to the evolution of AI in healthcare, there’s no shortage of AI stories to highlight.

What makes this MGMA survey standout is that while everyone seems to be jumping on the AI train, many healthcare executives are taking their time when implementing AI solutions.

It’s clear that 2023 has been the year of AI awareness in healthcare, but 2024 could be the time when we see real use cases come to life.

 RosettaHealth can assist with any health information challenges you might have, book a free consultation with one of our interoperability experts.