Systems Thinking Approach to an Artificial Intelligence Reality within Healthcare: From Hype to Value

The healthcare system is undergoing a transformational change due to the buildup of frustration against rising costs, inefficient services, long wait times and declining population health outcomes in the United States (US). At the same time, there is a growing excitement about the deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in order to mitigate these inefficiencies. Many of the AI initiatives in healthcare are generally focused on highly domain specific solutions. There has not been widespread adoption of systemic solutions proposed. Improving care coordination is a national priority in the US and it is thought to be critical to avoiding unnecessarily hospitalizations. Given the increase in the aging population and the mounting complexity of care dynamics as patients age, the time is ripe to apply systems thinking approaches to model the dynamics of these complex care trajectories with the implication of utilizing AI technologies to augment care transitions. This paper outlines the rationale and approach for utilizing systems thinking in AI implementation design focused on improving care coordination as a driver for high value care.