It’s nearly impossible for today’s healthcare providers and staff to optimize their care procedures without at least considering artificial intelligence (AI) solutions. AI is seemingly everywhere in the healthcare ecosystem. And in nearly every area of healthcare, these technologies are helping providers streamline backend operations and improve the quality of care and support.
But integrating AI in mental health, substance use, and intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) services can seem overwhelming. These specialties require solutions designed to address clients’ and providers’ unique circumstances, so finding and integrating the ideal tools into your existing systems and workflows takes time and research. Organizations must ask key questions about their operational and care-based requirements.
Here are six steps to take to choose the right AI solutions for your organization.
AI solutions are meant to do just that: solve problems. With countless AI companies and a growing number of AI tools to choose from, it’s critical for behavioral health leaders to first identify the needs of their providers, staff, and clients to ensure they select the right solution.
Collect and consider feedback from those involved in your operations. Are staff overloaded with work? Are clients struggling to schedule appointments? Do your providers need more support in making accurate and timely diagnoses?
Be sure to assess all areas of your operations, including:
The search for the right AI in mental health, substance use, or IDD can lead to many results, not all of which will be relevant to your needs. After you’ve taken time to identify your organization’s pain points and opportunities for improvement, research specific AI-powered solutions that can help solve them. Consider the following options that may be good fits:
As a leader in behavioral health technology, Core Solutions offers AI-powered technologies that enhance client care and practice logistics. Core can help providers spot anomalies in administrative progress notes, track social determinants of health, and improve billing cycles — all to help ensure clients get the best care and support possible.
A behavioral health chatbot, AI psychotherapy tool, or any other AI-powered solution is only as good as the data it’s trained on. If human biases are embedded into that data, the AI’s outputs will reflect those biases, potentially influencing clinical care decisions. In one study, for example, an AI in mental health solution that used natural language processing (NLP) replicated human biases related to gender, race, and nationality.
The impact of AI in healthcare can be significant. Before adopting and integrating a solution into your workflows, take time to evaluate how developers collected the data the AI was trained on, which demographics were included in the data, and what precautions developers took to avoid embedded biases. More specifically, avoid AI solutions that indicate:
Implementation of any new technology, including AI solutions, requires some level of change management, so it’s in leaders’ best interests to prepare providers and staff for the integration. Clearly explain to employees how the new AI technology will impact their workloads and client care, and train them on areas including:
In some cases, you’ll want to start small by integrating one solution into your existing systems, then build from there. It’s critical, however, for leaders to balance an incremental approach with the need for a more holistic solution like Core’s Cx360 EHR, which ultimately provides the greatest efficiency and most benefits.
Core makes integration as easy and seamless as possible with solutions that can be applied as standalone add-ons or quickly connected into an existing EHR or care management platform via an easy-to-implement application programming interface (API).
The healthcare industry is no stranger to data breaches. In 2023 alone, the industry saw more than 133 million client record breaches — the highest ever. With an increasing need for data security, providers and clients are rightfully concerned about AI’s impact on sensitive data circulating in the healthcare system.
That’s why it’s crucial to evaluate an AI technology’s security protocols and effectiveness before adopting the solution. Explore secure AI solutions like Core’s, which are designed with security checkpoints at every stage of development and built with protocols that align with the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s standards and best practices.
There are numerous AI options on the market, but few are designed to provide solutions specifically for behavioral healthcare organizations. To get the most out of your technology, look for a comprehensive platform like Core’s, which is built to meet behavioral health provider- and staff-specific needs. In addition to Cx360, which includes telehealth, optimized billing, and workflow management functionalities, Core offers several AI-powered tools such as:
The use of AI in mental health, substance use disorder, and IDD services is rapidly evolving, and Core is at the forefront of innovation. Designed specifically for behavioral healthcare providers and staff, our AI solutions and platform are helping organizations nationwide elevate their operations and quality of care. To learn what Core can do for you, get a demo today.