As in many other industries, health care is undergoing a digital transformation as providers, payers and others in the health care value chain leverage new technologies to improve patient care and access, increase efficiencies and reduce costs. The most promising of these technologies is artificial intelligence (AI), which offers profoundly greater power and sophistication than ever before and has the potential to truly revolutionize patient care. Artificial intelligence gives machines (e.g., computers, drones, robots) the ability to "think" and make decisions using real-time data. AI enables these machines to interpret the world around them, ingest and learn from information, make decisions based on what they've learned, and take appropriate action--all without human intervention. AI has become a part of our everyday lives whether we know it or not, helping us with everything from shopping and banking to booking trips to receiving deliveries. In health care, AI is already improving many aspects of the industry, from empowering patients to adhere to their care plan to helping detect diseases, from discovering new drugs to assisting in surgeries.

Artificial intelligence could prove to be a self-running growth engine for the health care sector in the not-so-distant future. A recent report from Accenture analyzed the "near-term value" of AI applications in health care to determine how the potential impact of the technology stacks up against the upfront costs of implementation. Results from the report estimated that AI applications in health care could save up to $150 billion annually for the U.S. health care economy by 2026. The report focused on 10 AI applications with potential for near-term impact in medicine and analyzed each application to derive an associated estimated value. Researchers considered the impact of each application, likelihood of adoption, and value to the health economy in their evaluation.

Technology, human ingenuity and deep pools of financial capital are aligned in an important mission: bringing artificial intelligence (AI) to global healthcare. If investor enthusiasm is any gauge, the mission is advancing quickly. No fewer than 300 healthcare AI startups have closed funding deals in the last five years--nearly 45 percent of them first equity rounds by startups just entering the space.1 In several respects, however, the mission is generating too much heat and too little natural intelligence. Technological assets on AI's frontier are often over billed in the media and poorly validated.

Fears of AI in Healthcare: The survey indicates that the top two fears patients and caregivers have when it comes to artificial intelligence are lack of human oversight and the potential for machine errors leading to mismanagement of their health. No Substitute for Your Doctor: When it comes to the possibilities of doctors being replaced by algorithms or robots, fears are clearly evident with fewer than 20 percent of patients surveyed perceiving any benefit to their future healthcare in receiving diagnosis or treatment recommendations from a virtual assistant. Strong Comfort in Using AI to Scale and Support Nurses: Switch the focus to the critical role played by nurses in supporting patients, and a different picture emerges. The number one benefit is seen as 24x7 on-demand access to answers and support, followed by monitoring for their general health and wellness, or for questions around a specific medication they've been prescribed. A'realistic voice' with a professional, warm and empathetic tone is seen as appealing by 72 percent - more important than a human name, face or gender.

Care Angel's innovative patient engagement, monitoring and management platform, SmartCare 3.0, brings Angel to life through a simple phone call on any voice-driven device, like a landline, cell phone or smartphone allowing providers to actively engage and manage their patient population in real-time. Care Angel's Virtual Nurse Assistant, Angel, conversationally checks-in with at-risk patient populations leveraging AI technology to enable scalable engagement with a focus on condition-specific health communication. Recent studies of at-risk populations have demonstrated patient engagement rates of 83 percent, readmission reduction of 63 percent and a $41 per patient per month net savings, by leveraging the Care Angel solution. Care Angel closes gaps in care between visits for the highest risk, highest cost patients while reducing hospitalization and readmissions. Under the agreement, Care Angel will work with FLAACOs and its ACO members to take a proactive approach to implementing Care Angel's patient engagement, monitoring and management solution, to support FLAACOs members' patient care and financial goals.