A Golden Opportunity for HIM Professionals as AI Applications Proliferate

EDITOR’S NOTE: On the morning of Jan. 22, major American news outlets were reporting the story of a huge artificial intelligence (AI) technology partnership. The partnership, involving Oracle, ChatGPT’s Open AI, SoftBank, and MGX, was touted as an investment of more than $500 billion on AI initiatives between now and 2029.

The announcement, held at the White House, hinted to using AI in healthcare to eliminate chart documentation efforts for physicians by using ambient listening scribes, forecasting pandemic-like conditions before a pandemic erupts, and finding cures for other conditions that have plagued us – like cancer.

Larry Ellison of Oracle spoke about the construction that had already begun on the first data centers in Abilene, Texas. These centers will house advanced computing systems essential for AI development.

The project is purported to create over 100,000 jobs in the U.S. and enhance national competitiveness in AI technologies.

Amazon, Microsoft, and Google have been seeking new sources of carbon-free electricity to meet surging energy demand in data centers that will support AI computing. Google will be purchasing power from Kairos Power, a nuclear power company. Amazon is working with other energy companies in the northeast to explore putting small modular reactors near its centers. And Microsoft is purchasing power from the Three Mile Island plant, which announced last year that it was reopening after initially closing in 2019; that plant is best known as the site of the worst commercial nuclear disaster in U.S. history, a partial meltdown of a reactor in 1979.

This nuclear power purchasing has already been coined “BYOP,” or “bring your own power.”

So…what does this mean for health information management (HIM) professionals? Artificial Intelligence today is the worst it will ever be. HIM professionals, many of whom are AI-savvy, can play a major role in shaping AI applications. The AI plans that were intimated during the initial announcement include HIM opportunities in multiple areas, and what I’ve listed below are just a few to consider.

1. Ambient scribes already exist. However, this technology is not perfect yet. Like transcription and speech recognition, the accuracy of speech capture needs to be validated. While the scribe might get accustomed to the voice of the provider and gain accuracy through voice recognition, the speech recognition of multiple different patients and patient speaking patterns every day needs validation. Consider becoming an ambient documentation integrity specialist.
   1. If transcription history tells us anything, we should anticipate that our providers will not validate the documentation;
   2. If patients’ demands for privacy and concern about ambient devices like Siri, Alexis, or their automobile not hearing their private information heightens, someone needs to manage the risk associated with privacy breaches and ensure that patients understand why providers are using ambient scribes, secure authorization for its use, explain how their data is being protected, and monitor data transmission.
2. Forecasting pandemic-like conditions has real promise. HIM professionals who are involved or wish to be involved in health information exchanges can be on the ground floor of this initiative.
   1. Data-sharing agreements need to be established between entities nationwide, but more so internationally, that not only protect privacy, but will also leverage data analytic skills to evaluate data and data indications.
   2. Coding will continue to be the key to any predictions. If AI is doing the coding, we will need “coders in the loop” to validate the accuracy of the AI-assigned codes.
3. Identifying cures for conditions that have challenged the care and treatment of individuals, such as many cancers, are long overdue. AI flourishes with large language data sources. Cures will depend on the efficacy of treatments, large databases of timely and accurate clinical, medication, and modality data; researchers to analyze the results; and drug manufacturers to produce the medications, as well as identification of other effective modalities. 
   1. For HIM professionals, moving into the research realm is a worthwhile consideration.
   2. Data analytic skills will be an absolute necessity. The American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) has a data analytics certification program to give you a head start.
4. Finally, if you haven’t sought additional education in AI concepts, don’t wait. I haven’t seen news of an AHIMA AI certification program yet, but HFMA has released a comprehensive AI governance certification to equip healthcare professionals for AI in healthcare. There are also many programs available online to give you nitty-gritty AI skills.

As traditional health information functions erode and disappear, if you’re ready to ride the next health information wave, you should start preparing now.

And, if they haven’t already weighed this, our HIM educational programs may need to consider a curriculum modification to prepare our HIM graduates for an environment that is more dependent upon AI.