Today in Healthcare: Telehealth in Africa, AI vs. Payment Fraud, Transparency and Innovation

Telehealth

Today in healthcare, artificial intelligence is taking a bite of the $300 billion in fraud, waste and abuse in healthcare. Plus, the No Surprise Act is bringing transparency and innovation to healthcare payments, and African startups could thrive with telehealth.

‘No Surprise Act’ Could Bring Unexpected Transparency, Innovation to Healthcare Payments

The No Surprise Act (NSA) and Transparency in Coverage rule recently issued by the Biden Administration has made waves across the healthcare sector. Firms are now racing to create new digital tools that enable consumer choice while bringing efficiency and clarity to the payments process.

Amanda Eisel, CEO of healthcare payments platform Zelis, told PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster that data-driven ecosystems align well with the spirit and letter of NSA, addressing transparency issues for consumers with an unambiguous front-end shoppable experience, while easing payments pains for providers and payers.

Startups Look to Tap Into Africa’s Telehealth Opportunities

Ghanaian healthcare startup MPharma is aiming to open 100 virtual centers across seven African markets in the next six months, setting a goal to “deliver quality primary care” and provide more medical examinations.

Founder and CEO Gregory Rockson has said the company provides 10,000 physician consultations to patients at the startup’s network, but the new system would be able to reach more people and work more efficiently.

Artificial Intelligence is ‘Shining Star’ in Fight Against Healthcare Payments Fraud

Healthcare has begun to take steps toward dealing with the $300 billion in annual fraud, waste and abuse across the sector through the use of artificial intelligence (AI).

AI In Focus, a collaborative study by PYMNTS and Brighterion, a Mastercard company, finds that all health insurers with more than $1 billion in revenue plan to invest in AI in the next one to three years, while 89% of those with revenues between $100 million and $1 billion plan to do the same.