Peter Durlach, Robert Fournier, M.D., Jeremy Gottlich, Tristan Markwell, Jon McManus, Andy Merrill, and David Rhew, M.D.
BACKGROUND Though many health systems are starting to deploy artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning for clinical applications, there is limited guidance available to benchmark progress and assess maturity on a sector-wide scale.
METHODS The Health Management Academy, Microsoft and Nuance convened the AI Collaborative in 2022. The group comprises more than 50 AI decision-makers from leading health systems across the United States, who worked together in three workstreams to create the first iteration of the AI Maturity Roadmap. The workstreams covered assessing the solution landscape, establishing clinical AI use cases, and creating the initial roadmap.
RESULTS The AI Maturity Roadmap defines six key focus areas for health systems: Culture, Governance, Business Implementation, Value, Maintenance and Operations, and Information Architecture. Within these areas, there are several granular themes. To benchmark progress against these themes, there are five levels of maturity, ranging from “awareness” at level one to “transformational” at level five. In the first instance, 24 health systems in the AI Collaborative have been benchmarked against the model. There is a range of maturity that currently skews toward the lower levels, with most self-reporting that their efforts are at level two, “active,” or level three, “operational.”
CONCLUSIONS Even among industry leaders, there is a wide variety in maturity levels, as health systems approach AI from different angles and baselines. This roadmap will be a valuable tool for guiding best practices, investments, and conversations, and aligning progress to help health systems take advantage of sector-wide advancement.
The AI Collaborative continues to meet, discuss, and refine the AI Maturity Roadmap, with plans to expand the Business Implementation, Value, Maintenance and Operations, and Information Architecture sections. For more information about the AI Maturity Roadmap, please visit The Health Management Academy.