AI is a Physician Complement, Not Replacement, Expert Says | Asembia's AXS25 Summit

In the future, AI will evolve alongside healthcare needs, helping with administrative tasks and saving money, according to George Van Antwerp, SVP of product innovation and strategic planning at Prime Therapeutics.

George Van Antwerp

“[AI] is going to continue to add ways to complement the human, not necessarily replace the human, especially in healthcare,” Van Antwerp said in a recent video interview with Managed Healthcare Executive. “We're seeing that pressure from a clinical decision making perspective. It's not that people don't want AI to make the decisions; they want it to make it easier for the clinicians and others to aggregate data.”

He specifically mentioned “smart prior auths,” in which AI software would look at diagnosis codes and lab values, potentially streamlining the prior authorization process. 

Van Antwerp also said that traditionally, AI has focused on machine learning but in the future, there will be a focus on generative AI. He also said that AI will address needs in three areas: clinical innovation, such as developing new gene therapies; operational technology in drug development; and personalizing member and provider engagement.

“We're beginning to look at more opportunities with our clients and what we can do with a conversational AI or a chatbot that can support the member in some of their questions, especially where there's predetermined replies that can be coded or can be trained around [commands such as] ‘understand my benefits,’ or ‘is this pharmacy in my network?’”

Van Antwerp spoke at this year's Asembia AXS25 Summit, held this week in Las Vegas. He co-hosted a session yesterday called ‘Beyond AI: What Other Technologies Will Affect Pharmacy?’