Experian Acquires Wave to Enhance AI-Powered Health Data Curation

Experian has acquired Wave HDC, a health tech firm offering AI-powered data curation.

The deal is designed to help Experian Health leverage Wave’s technology to offer more comprehensive and faster healthcare coverage identification and automation capabilities, according to a Thursday (Nov. 30) press release.

Wave uses artificial intelligence (AI) to identify “unknown insurance benefits coverage” and patient demographics, working with hospitals, laboratories, billing companies and physician groups, per the announcement.

“The acquisition will enhance Experian Health’s leading patient access products to offer an advanced solution that captures all important registration data in real time from the start, as the patient checks in for an appointment,” the release said.

“No longer will data need to be chased and updated post-registration. A single inquiry can search for all the essential insurance and patient demographics instantly, avoiding costly rework and delayed reimbursements.”

PYMNTS has examined AI’s potential for the healthcare field at several points in recent months, including a September report about the technology’s use in the health data space. As that report put it, the sheer volume of available data is the industry’s biggest problem.

“Healthcare systems produce a zettabyte of data annually, but it all sits in silos. The change-the-game opportunity AI represents in healthcare is the ability to transform, analyze, and link these fragmented data sources into actionable timely insights,” Vikas Mehta, CFO at Komodo Health, told PYMNTS.

As covered here, the healthcare industry is forecast to nearly double its spending on artificial intelligence, with the amount set aside for AI and machine learning (ML) in health company budgets projected to reach 10.5% next year, up from 5.5% in 2022.

Meanwhile, PYMNTS spoke earlier this month with Kalle Conneryd-Lundgren, chief operating officer at healthtech firm Kry, about the way AI has freed up more time for clinicians to provide patient care.

“About 70% of all the tasks they do could be done by someone other than a highly trained clinician,” said Conneryd-Lundgren, giving the example of nonessential administrative tasks such as looking up addresses for referrals, scheduling appointments or looking up clinical guidelines.

AI, however, can handle a lot of those non-medical tasks. His company has fully integrated AI into its services, leading to a 20% increase in clinician efficiency across its markets.