Hospices have leveraged artificial intelligence (AI) in a number of ways to improve sustainability and quality. Understanding the return on investment of these innovations is key as technology becomes more embedded in health care delivery.

AI adoption in hospice involves more nuanced considerations compared to other health care fields, according to Dina Yankelewitz, CEO of Vitalis Care. The AI technology company specifically works with hospice providers on documentation, predictive analytics and scheduling tools.

Hospices must carefully navigate challenges related to compliance, revenue cycle management and staff engagement when seeking deeper AI integration, Yankelewitz said during a podcast by the law firm Husch Blackwell.

“Front and center is transparency,” Yankelewitz said during the podcast. “We’re looking at the actual numbers of increased efficiency, decreased costs or increased revenue. But then on the other side, we’re also looking at more effective operations, whether it’s increased productivity or increased care for the actual patient. We want [hospices] to have that ability to think proactively about whether documentation is in line with reality and compliance. It’s coming from all different directions.”

Hospices have increasingly turned to AI to help combat their most significant financial challenges in today’s economic and regulatory climate, said Meg Pekarske, partner at Husch Blackwell. Care delivery and staffing costs have been on the rise, while regulatory oversight has tightened, Pekarske said.

Providers are carefully considering where every dollar is being allocated, including technology investments. The ability to measure efficiency, expenses and business impacts are important components of AI integration, according to Pekarske.

“People are really struggling to provide the highest level of quality care and not bog people down in paperwork and put as much money as they can into patient care,” Pekarske said. “[Technology] can increase efficiency in some way or directly impact the business. How are we going to measure success? That’s a differentiator. There are so many opportunities. [It’s] helping provide a solution, but also make a meaningful difference not only to the quality of life for staff, [but also] thinking about staff retention.”

Examining the impact of AI technologies involves having a set of key performance indicators, Yankelewitz said. For hospices, these indicators can look vastly different.

Aside from reducing documentation errors and redundancies is the significance of accurate and detailed information regarding patient eligibility and their declining conditions. Measuring how AI tools help to improve documentation can be the difference between minimizing billing errors and avoiding increased auditing activity – two areas posing some of the largest financial headwinds for hospices, Yankelewitz indicated

Hospices need to measure the effectiveness of AI integration when it comes to staff and patient satisfaction, particularly as workforce shortages worsen and demand rises, she said. Providers are doing more with fewer resources, and having a means to examine the technology costs versus benefits of these investments is key. AI tools can help reduce staff driving times and mileage costs that can “astronomically” increase the cost of care delivery, Yankelewitz said.

“[It’s] increasing the touch points in hospice in that remote care model,” Yankelewitz said. “Having those additional touch points make a big difference in the patient and their caregiver feeling like this [provider] is here for me when I need it. There are these natural synergies developing.”