Staying on top of vendors has become increasingly challenging for healthcare organizations. Today, a single healthcare entity can deal with hundreds or thousands of suppliers around the globe. Indeed, the average number of vendors within a large healthcare entity hovers around 1,300, according to recent research.
With so many moving parts, it’s easy to make mistakes or miss opportunities for deeper connections and collaborations. But mistakes can be costly and, especially in the field of medicine, life-threatening. And missed chances can mean fewer successes for the organization and its patients and employees.
To minimize the potential for risk and inefficiencies inherent in the supplier management process, forward-leaning healthcare leaders and teams are turning to a variety of AI solutions.
1. Tier-agnostic tracking
It’s easy to forget that a healthcare company’s vendors can fall into different tier categories. For example, Tier I suppliers are those that directly offer services to a business. Data for those services is fairly easy to obtain, but Tier II suppliers pose unique challenges for traditional tracking systems.
Tier II suppliers are those that support Tier I suppliers. As such, their data often gets overlooked or missed by companies. But AI-primed software systems can efficiently capture relevant Tier II data along with Tier I data. Once aggregated by AI, the data offers a more comprehensive view of the corporation’s total spend with small businesses, highlighting not just direct contributions, but also indirect spend across sectors and supplier types.
A primary upside of having Tier I and Tier II data transparency is the ability to see related spend in real time, as noted by healthcare vendor management solutions provider Nectar iQ. The company’s core platform features direct-to-portal reporting and customized dashboards for Tier II suppliers, allowing organizations to gain visibility into both the direct and indirect contributions that vendors make. This type of “deep dive” using historically hidden data would be difficult to obtain without the use of an AI-powered tool.
2. AI agent deployment
AI agents are enabling healthcare organizations to reduce healthcare claims, a common friction point between organizations and third-party vendors. As explained in a piece by consulting firm McKinsey, a series of AI agents can pass information between themselves, thereby keeping the process moving faster.
It’s critical to note that AI agents are taking over healthcare tasks and not professionals’ jobs. Employees are still required to give a final evaluation of a claim. Yet they don’t need to get mired in the minutiae of moving forms through vendors or portals. AI agents can take on those responsibilities, leaving staff to verify information only when it’s needed.
There are other use cases for AI agents, including managing inventory. As supplies wane, AI agents can be programmed to either place orders or alert staff before essential items reach critically low levels.
3. Natural language processing
The use of natural language processing can also be used in healthcare settings between organizations and vendors. An AI program can be trained to transcribe and interpret written and oral communications. The program can then use its findings to populate forms and databases.
This type of AI solution helps to circumvent the need for human note-taking and evaluation. Software company Lumenalta explains that what makes natural language processing especially powerful is its ability to extract information from unstructured data. The extracted elements can then be organized effectively in a way that makes sense and can be used later.
Again, what’s particularly impactful about natural language processing solutions is their capability to transcribe and interpret any verbal communication. Consequently, even a short recorded Zoom or Teams meeting between a healthcare provider and a supplier can become a more useful source of information.
4. Automated transactions and chatbots
Most industries lean on AI software to streamline fiscal transactions, and healthcare is no exception. AI software can make the back-and-forth of invoices, payments, and year-end summaries painless. The most sophisticated software will require very little oversight unless human follow-up or authorization is required.
AI chatbots may be used to further enhance the vendor management experience. A chatbot can answer basic questions and solve issues for vendors. More advanced chatbots have the capacity to initiate individualized conversations with suppliers based on the suppliers’ historic communications and other information.
At their core, AI chatbots capably and systematically perform triage services. They’re at the front line, so actual front-line employees can focus on other duties.
5. Onboarding programs
Bringing new vendors into a healthcare system can be inefficient and disjointed. But AI can smooth out the rough spots, ensuring that all vendors hear and receive the exact same information during their onboarding.
It’s critical to maintain this kind of consistency and accuracy, as vendors all deserve to be treated alike. In the past, large or legacy status vendors might have received special red carpet onboarding treatment. Having an AI-supported onboarding process eliminates bias toward any single vendor.
Continuous updates and training can be part of an onboarding system. With AI software, a healthcare organization can offer its suppliers a series of modules that can be viewed remotely to improve knowledge transfer and maintain the highest degree of trust and transparency.
These aren’t the only ways that AI is making vendor management easier for healthcare industry organizations, of course. However, they’re an exciting snapshot of how AI is positively affecting the world of modern medicine.
Photo by Fotos; Unsplash
Rashan is a seasoned technology journalist and visionary leader serving as the Editor-in-Chief of DevX.com, a leading online publication focused on software development, programming languages, and emerging technologies. With his deep expertise in the tech industry and her passion for empowering developers, Rashan has transformed DevX.com into a vibrant hub of knowledge and innovation. Reach out to Rashan at [email protected]
