The future of AI and how hospitals can maintain their independence led the conversations at the Indiana Rural Health Annual Conference in French Lick, Indiana June 18-19. Indiana hospital and health system leaders joined others from surrounding states along with representatives from area universities including Butler University, Indiana State and Indiana University to explore the positive cultural impact rural hospitals have on their communities around the world.
The conference theme “From Silos to Collective Impact: Embracing a Culture of Health” pinpoints the positive influence that rural hospitals have on their communities. Meduit’s Eric Day and Angie Flora were on the ground talking with attendees over the 2-day event.
“I had a lot of conversations about how healthcare providers can stay independent and not get swallowed up by bigger organizations, and these conversations were not just coming from rural hospital leaders,” Eric said. “Hospital and health system executives are all looking to AI to help improve accuracy and reduce costs by reducing human touches.”
For rural hospitals in particular, saving dollars is essential, and every opportunity to save has an impact. As AI continues to evolve and get smarter, the technology will be a powerful resource for providers across healthcare.
Angie added, “Attendees wanted to learn what other healthcare leaders are doing to stay independent, not just in the short term, but what they are planning and seeing for the long term.”
“Everybody wants to know what the next step is. Not just what you’re doing now, but what does one to six months look like and what does ten years look like.” Eric noted. “These questions were not just coming from providers, but from vendors too.”
