The health system reported a $2.6 million operating loss during the first quarter, down significantly from $8.3 million operating profit the previous year. The six-hospital health system halted some IT upgrades due to pandemic losses and instead decided to invest in AI technology that would help collect insurer payments and lower administrative errors as well as speed up the time it takes to receive outstanding payments.
Gundersen’s CFO Gerald Oetzel said the health system invested in AI tech from Olive to reduce administrative costs and expects to see a five times return on investment from integration, reaching $10 million the first year after full integration. He also sees using AI for purchase order processing, invoice payment and regulatory compliance as future use cases.
The health system is also investing in telehealth capabilities with the goal of transitioning many more visits remotely by the end of 2020.
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