Hospital Artificial Intelligence Tools and Inpatient Utilization and Costs in Older Adults with Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias.

Published in Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. Abstract: Hospitals are increasingly adopting artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) tools to support clinical decision making and care management. However, evidence on how hospital AI/ML adoption relates to inpatient utilization and spending among clinically complex populations remains limited. Older adults with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) experience higher rates of readmissions and potentially avoidable hospitalizations. Cross-sectional study was conducted using 2023 inpatient claims linked to the Medicare Beneficiary Summary File and the American Hospital Association Annual Survey Information Technology Supplement to examine associations between hospital adoption of patient-related AI/ML tools and inpatient utilization and spending among Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) beneficiaries with ADRD. The study included 340,509 FFS beneficiaries aged 65 years or older with ADRD who experienced at least one inpatient hospitalization in 2023. Hospital adoption of patient-related AI/ML tools was measured using four indicators reflecting AI/ML use to predict inpatient health risks, identify high-risk outpatients, monitor patient health, and recommend treatments. Outcomes included frequent hospitalization, 30-day readmission, preventable acute and chronic hospitalizations, total Medicare payments, and beneficiary out-of-pocket (OOP) spending. Multivariable regression models adjusted for beneficiary and hospital characteristics. Greater hospital adoption of patie...