- An artificial intelligence (AI) screening tool identified patients at risk for opioid use disorder and helped reduce readmission to hospitals.
- The findings hint that AI screening could be a cost-effective way to recognize at-risk patients and increase their access to addiction treatment.
Dumb as hell. “screening” in this case is just as easy as using a standard automated system to flag a paper trail of medical records, but with extra steps and “AI”. It will flag literally all the same things any automated scripted system would, just using more resources because “AI”.
It looks like an offline tool that reviews existing medical records to find indicators of addiction:
Overall, the AI screener was as effective as provider-only assessments in leading to addiction specialist consultations. However, those who received AI screening were 47% less likely to be readmitted to the hospital within 30 days after initial discharge.
The team calculated that each readmission avoided saved about $6,800 in health care costs during the study period. The findings suggest that investment in AI could help to increase access to addiction treatment, improve efficiencies, and save costs.