Why Healthcare Leaders in the Middle East Must Embrace AI for Value-based Care

While industries worldwide have swiftly adopted artificial intelligence, healthcare still lags behind. As per a recent report by the World Economic Forum, healthcare’s adoption of AI can be best described as “below average”. AI in healthcare in the Middle East is seeing a similar trend. With countries like Saudi Arabia already investing billions in digital transformation in healthcare under Vision 2030,  the true potential of AI is yet to be realized.

A recent report shows that 1 in 3 organizations in the UAE can’t clearly define the value of AI. Countries navigating the shift to value-based care in the region should no longer see, AI as a choice, but a necessity. As a healthcare leader in the Middle East, here’s how AI can drive your value-based care goals:

Revolutionize Patient Experience 

How does AI enhance value-based care in the Middle East? One of the major impacts of AI has been transforming the patient experience. We are no longer in an era where a one-size-fits-all approach will give us the desired patient outcomes. Healthcare leaders in the Middle East must reimagine their consumer journeys to deliver more personalized care.

Each patient’s journey is unique and complicated by numerous socio-economic factors that need a tailored approach. Leveraging an AI-powered CRM (customer relationship management) will help you enhance patient engagement by building a more proactive patient-provider relationship. These AI-powered healthcare solutions analyze patient data to provide valuable insights such as patients who are most likely to engage and their preferred mode of communication.

Since patients define treatment success differently, incorporating AI into Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) and Patient-Reported Experience Measures (PREMs) will allow us to gain deeper insights into patient perspectives and experiences. AI can detect patterns and generate real-time insights to guide clinical decision-making, leading to more personalized treatments and better outcomes.

You can schedule appointments, automate reminders, customize patient journeys, and proactively manage care. Leading hospitals in Saudi Arabia are already embracing digital transformation in healthcare and have reported significant improvements in patient engagement. 

AI-powered patient care in the Middle East will bring you one step closer to achieving your value-based care goals by keeping patients at the center of healthcare delivery models. 

Unlock Population Health

As a healthcare leader, you know that population health management and value-based care are inherently interconnected. Both focus on improving the health of communities while keeping costs under control. However, in the Middle East, managing population health has several challenges. These range from disparities in health outcomes amongst communities to increasing healthcare costs. AI could be a game-changer in population health management. 

AI analyzes vast amounts of patient data instantly and uncovers hidden trends. Many population health management solutions come with built-in analytics and customizable dashboards. With the help of AI, you can:

• Segment your population based on chronic conditions, demographics, and social determinants of health, allowing targeted interventions and avoiding unnecessary procedures.
• Identify high-risk populations and track key performance indicators for your organization.
• Pinpoint areas of excess spending and ensure financial sustainability. 

Integrating AI into your population health strategy empowers you to more informed decisions and ultimately achieve what value-based care promises- better outcomes at lower costs. 

Combat Physician Burnout 

Physician burnout in the region has reached alarming levels. The ever-increasing documentation and administrative tasks put an incomprehensible burden on physicians to manage multiple responsibilities, in addition to patient care. A study conducted in Saudi Arabia shows a sobering reality. Around 63% of residents in the region report experiencing exhaustion.

AI-driven healthcare solutions have the potential to reduce administrative burdens and improve the productivity of physicians. With the emergence of AI-powered digital scribes, doctors are no longer spending time taking notes. They are focused on interacting with patients, while the AI scribe summarizes the conversation and provides analysis in real time. Leveraging AI also allows physicians to streamline administrative work as intelligent solutions can take care of tasks ranging from appointment booking to bill processing. 

Mitigating physician burnout by embracing AI should be a key goal of value-based care initiatives if you wish to improve patient satisfaction, and ultimately, outcomes.

Drive Operational Excellence 

Integrating artificial intelligence in a hospital’s day-to-day operations can directly support value-based care goals. AI excels in optimizing critical workflows. 

Some of the ways AI is transforming healthcare operations are:

• It can analyze existing data in real-time to predict patient volumes across departments, helping hospitals prepare in advance. This would lead to smoother patient journeys by removing bottlenecks.
• It adjusts the distribution of resources and staff based on actual and predicted demands. By matching resources, hospitals can ensure high-quality care while optimizing resource utilization.
• It automates communication and scheduling between different departments. This leads to more streamlined care for patients.

Leaders who embrace AI today will be better equipped to transform their operations and improve patient outcomes.

Future of AI in Middle Eastern Healthcare

The role of AI in transforming healthcare systems cannot be overstated. From providing us with predictive analytics to personalizing patient journeys, AI is helping to reshape how we deliver care. With the transition to value-based care in full swing, leaders in the Middle East must think about how they can leverage technology to achieve their value-based care objectives. To us, the future of AI in Middle Eastern healthcare looks promising. However, embracing AI needs to come with proper safeguards and regulations in place.

Healthcare leaders who take thoughtful and strategic steps toward AI adoption today will harness the opportunity well. Combining the region's ambitious healthcare vision with AI's transformative potential will enable the Middle East to set new global standards for value-based care delivery.

Learn how AI can help you advance your value-based care goals. Book a demo with us.