Artificial intelligence’s impact on nursing home and senior living community operations has been wide-ranging, from improving patient safety to streamlining workforce tasks amid staffing shortages. Now there’s evidence 40% of all healthcare working hours can be supported or augmented by language-based AI, according to a new report by Accenture.
Large language models — algorithms that use deep learning techniques and data sets to understand and predict new content — power ChatGPT and have led to an explosion of public adoption of AI technologies, researchers note. Tasks that involve reading and writing account for 51% of the time employees work, according to the report, and AI is streamlining the amount of time spent on language-related tasks.
For nursing home administrators, getting the most out of AI means rethinking the way work gets done. Accenture recommends a “people-first approach,” investing in enterprise architecture and training staff to work effectively with AI-infused processes. Providers should make sure their technology foundation is sustainable by investing in infrastructure to leverage generative AI models, keeping a close eye on cost and carefully monitoring sustainable energy consumption, the report advises.
With senior living communities particularly vulnerable to cyber attacks, data security is another concern as AI adoption grows. Being strategic about safeguarding and deploying data, and using modern enterprise data platforms built on the cloud should help senior living administrators address this, researchers said.
The AI/ChatGPT explosion isn’t slowing down anytime soon. Forty-two percent of companies want to make a large investment in ChatGPT in 2023, and half of healthcare organizations plan to use ChatGPT for learning purposes, with more than half planning pilot cases this year, the report says.
