Anthem Taps Artificial Intelligence Space With Allergy Research Trial Posted on : Aug 01 - 2018

Anthem is partnering with the artificial intelligence platform doc.ai to examine whether the technology works to “predict when people will experience allergies or allergy patterns.”

The announcement Wednesday that Anthem is supporting a 12-month trial by doc.ai and Harvard Medical School researchers to examine whether artificial intelligence can improve patient outcomes is the latest effort by the health insurance industry in the AI space. Financial terms of the partnership weren't disclosed.

“Anthem is focused on leading our industry in the safe and responsible use of artificial intelligence and emerging technologies to create a better healthcare future for all Americans,” Anthem CEO Gail Boudreaux said in a statement. “We are pleased to partner with doc.ai on this innovative study that can have near-term benefit for our employees and, longer-term, the potential to redefine how we treat disease and manage chronic medical conditions to achieve better personalized health outcomes.”

Some see the health insurance industry’s shift to value-based care and population health and a greater acceptance of machines to help deliver medical care to patients will help turn artificial intelligence into a multi-billion-dollar market. A report earlier this year from Accenture says healthcare’s artificial intelligence market will eclipse $6 billion by 2021 . That’s a jump from $600 million in 2014, according to Accenture.

Insurers are in the business of managing healthcare costs and getting patients the right care, in the right place and at the right time as the key to quality and cost-effective medicine. Other health insurance companies are also investing in artificial intelligence either through programs or financial stakes in startups. As one example, UnitedHealth Group’s Optum Ventures has been an investor in Buoy Health, which executives say is working on an "artificial intelligence-powered digital health assistant" to help patients.

Those involved in artificial intelligence acknowledge that it’s still early to know just how much AI can contribute to improving the health care system. In announcing their partnership, Anthem and doc.ai acknowledge “data trials that rely on the confluence of blockchain, precision medicine, and artificial intelligence are a fairly new concept.”

But AI firms say partnering with health insurance companies will help given the vast amount of data they have from millions of medical claims and related patient data. Anthem, is the nation's second-largest health insurer, operating Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans in 14 states.

“Any initiative in healthcare using AI needs scale to succeed,” doc.ai co-founder Walter De Brouwer  said in a statement. “We are very excited to welcome Anthem as our partner in supporting and using technology to enable individuals to collect and own their health data while empowering data scientists using deep learning to collaborate with consumers, doctors and researchers to find personalized healthcare solutions.” View More