Like many areas of insurance, the healthcare space is in a big period of change. Cloud Insurance has highlighted the five emerging technology trends in the space that could really disrupt the sector.
Artificial intelligence
AI has been a major talking point across most industries, with the technology capable of removing manual workloads and improving the quality of work.
One of the most exciting uses for it, Cloud Insurance said, is personalisation within healthcare insurance. The technology provides insurers with the ability to create unique experiences that meet the high-speed demands of consumers.
To make the most of the solution, the AI needs to sift through masses of consumer data and analyse them for insights that an insurer can use to create plans personalised to an individual’s behaviour and habits.
It said, “By applying AI to analyse data gathered from integration with other cloud-based industries, insurers will be able to access a wealth of insights that can contribute to personalised experiences for their consumers. For example, insurers can mine data from social media sites and use AI to analyse their habits and behaviour in order to offer innovative and customised healthcare plans.”
Predictive analytics
The next big technology trend is predictive analytics and how it can be used to mitigate risks and better manage underwriting.
Through the technology, insurers can analyse medical records, clinical guidelines and clinical alerts for risk adjustment at a quicker rate, it said. By removing laborious manual tasks, the firms can get accurate reports quicker and provide customised offers to consumers.
Predictive analytics can also improve the claims processing systems for healthcare insurers. It can reduce turnaround time for claims by removing repetitive tasks, detect potential fraudulent claims by assessing social media accounts for discrepancies in claims, and it can automate other areas of fraud detection with behavioural pattern-based algorithms.
Cloud Insurance stated, “With all these benefits, it’s clear that when health insurance companies adopt predictive analysis, they can significantly boost efficiency, lower operating and administrative costs, and improve customer service.
“Even better, insurers can share macrotrends gained from predictive analysis in health insurance with consumers to give them insights that can help them improve their health. This contributes to improving the overall health of populations to reduce the burden on healthcare systems.”
The Internet of Things (IoT)
Like AI, IoT has been discussed for many years and how it can transform how businesses work. For example, it can be used to improve energy efficiency, traffic congestion and emergency response times.
As for insurance, it gives health insurers the ability to leverage information from health devices and smart wearables. Through these, insurers have another route to collect data for their AI and predictive analytics and build a connected ecosystem for clients.
Cloud Insurance added that health devices and smart wearables encourage people to keep healthy habits, reach health and fitness goals and prevent serious conditions before they are diagnosed. Those with chronic illnesses can also get a better way to manage their pain.
It said, “During the years of adopting health devices and smart wearables, most people would not have considered sharing the data from their devices with their health insurance providers. It was more common to share data with their medical care providers, since there is a direct correlation between medical data and medical care.
“However, as insurance businesses realised the value of integration with IoT, they created incentives for customers who share data from their devices with them. This also ties in with personalised plans, such as providing customers with discounts or rewards for reaching certain health goals or milestones.”
Telehealth and augmented reality
Telehealth technology is helping patients access tele-consultations, e-visits and home monitoring systems whilst at home. This is removing the need for people to visits hospitals and is particularly useful for those that are bedridden or housebound, it said.
The pandemic, which forced many people to stay indoors unless they needed emergency care, increased the use of telehealth services. Augmented reality and mobile augmented reality can superimpose digital items in physical surroundings via a mobile screen.
Through this technology, Cloud Insurance said, telehealth consultations can be improved by giving them greater flexibility in interactions.
“It will be intriguing to observe how these emerging telehealth technology and trends can help health insurance businesses create customised plans for their consumers. We also expect telehealth technologies to reduce costs associated with health claims because of how it can reduce administrative manual paperwork for both physicians and insurers.”
Blockchain
Blockchain data is a decentralised platform that leverages a distributed-peer network in which each block is secured from tampering, it said. Each one of these blocks stores records tagged with time and date stamps.
A major accolade for blockchain is the ability to remove intermediary parties and give full transparency between insurers, reinsurers, customers and partners.
While the technology is in its early days, some healthcare insurers have used it to create smart contracts that replace existing ledger technologies. A smart contract is stored on a blockchain and can activate programs when predetermined conditions are met. Cloud Insurance believes these will boost efficiency, boost consumer trust, improve claims processing, and improve fraud detection and prevention.
Cloud Insurance concluded, “As health technology trends become more accessible and cheaper for the mainstream, health insurance companies that do not take advantage of these technologies will miss out on the potential to position itself as a forward-thinking healthcare partner for consumers.
“By jumping on these trends early, health insurance businesses will position themselves as insurers who care for the entire wellness journey of their customers. This proactive approach can increase customer trust, loyalty, and referrals to support business growth for health insurers in 2022 and beyond.”
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