By Sri Sridharan, President, MedRisk
In the “age of AI,” how do we stay focused on our fundamental objectives and leverage technological advancements in achieving them?
Today’s rapidly advancing environment has introduced our industry to the wonders of groundbreaking technology such as artificial intelligence (AI), sensors, virtual reality (VR) headsets, and natural language processing (NLP) capabilities. These developments have grown so rapidly over the last few years that we find ourselves in what we could call “the age of AI,” presenting us with a multitude of opportunities for prediction, automation, and other tools.
But while these new technologies all promise to revolutionize how we do things, it’s important to never lose sight of our core purpose: patient recovery. Yes, these innovations present immense potential to improve patient care, but we must be careful not to fall victim to the “shiny object syndrome,” the allure of adopting the latest technology without a clear understanding of its alignment with our industry’s core mission.
Staying grounded in our collective mission and identifying opportunities for genuine improvement
The journey of patient recovery is central to every decision and strategy within the physical therapy (PT) industry and our core purpose should always be helping each patient safely return to work following an injury. With this in mind, we begin to look for areas where we can do things better and then look for tools that can help. It is from here that we take a pause and ask, “to what end?” Before embracing the next technological innovation, we must first understand if and how it enables patient compliance between treatments, measures progress in recovery, and promotes safe behaviors that prevent future injury.
Maximizing the value from insights
There is a wealth of data to be mined within the PT industry. We gather valuable information on providers, injuries, and treatment patterns from each case we manage. In addition to what we gather today, the PT industry is also inundated with numerous digital musculoskeletal solutions, each claiming to deliver unprecedented insights. However, regardless of the volume, data are of little use unless we are able to apply them to our purpose.
Technologies like NLP have made it easier to derive meaningful insights from vast volumes of data. Predictive AI models are helping us spot patterns across cases more quickly and, ultimately, make the right plays earlier on.
Aligning technology with the North Star of patient recovery
The vast expanse of technological innovation should always be navigated by our North Star: patient recovery. Will it enhance the patient’s experience? Does it have the potential to save us time and reduce costs? Can it bridge a significant gap or address a pain point that’s crippling the ability to provide effective and efficient care? Will it simplify a complex process or will its implementation only further complicate things?
Before embracing the latest trends, it is critical to meticulously evaluate any new “shiny object” against these questions.
While technological advancements offer incredible potential, they must always be deliberately aligned with the objective of improving patient outcomes. By staying grounded in the purpose of the workers’ compensation industry, we unlock the ability to leverage technology effectively and create a future where patient recovery remains at the forefront of every decision and strategy.
About Sri Sridharan
Sri Sridharan provides overall strategic leadership and direction for MedRisk. He oversees day-to-day operations and works closely with both internal and external stakeholders to improve the entire experience by promoting efficiency, growth and innovation. He has honed his expertise in workers’ compensation claims and data analytics with over two decades of executive leadership roles at large organizations in the insurance industry, including Marsh.
About MedRisk
Serving more than 500,000 workers’ compensation patients annually, MedRisk is the largest managed care organization dedicated to the physical rehabilitation of injured workers. Clinically driven since its inception, the company has an International Scientific Advisory Board that developed and maintains physical medicine-specific, evidence-based guidelines for workers’ compensation. MedRisk uses industry-leading technology and a focus on patient recovery to ensure high quality care and deliver outstanding customer service. For more information, visit www.medrisknet.com or call 800-225-9675.
Disclosure:
MedRisk has advertised with WorkCompWire.
This is NOT a paid placement.