The healthcare revenue cycle, which encompasses the entire lifespan of a patient’s account from appointment scheduling to payment, is a critical process for any organization. Artificial intelligence and generative AI stand to revolutionize not just healthcare’s clinical processes but also those of revenue cycle management.

Today’s AI innovations have the potential to address longstanding challenges and optimize RCM operations — if deployed thoughtfully and with consideration for the current limitations of this technology.

Having specific elements in place can help support AI transformation. These include:

• Using aggregated, normalized data to build and train models
• Building diverse models representing numerous geographies and perspectives, which can prevent overfitting a model to a limited set of instances
• Deploying a clear correlation of inputs to outputs — in the revenue cycle, this might be transactions mapped to outcomes — in order to detect successful patterns
• Smoothly integrating AI into RCM operations in order to infuse insights directly into workflows and streamline processes
• Ensuring compliance with HIPAA and other security or privacy policies

Due to specialized knowledge, massive processing power and particular tools needed, building AI models and implementing them effectively can be a difficult undertaking for providers attempting to implement on their own. The right end-to-end RCM partner with experience incorporating AI into the revenue cycle can help to make the transition a seamless one.