Google Cloud and Prudential have announced that the latter is using MedLM, Google’s family of foundation models fine-tuned for healthcare industry use cases. The models are aimed at improving the accuracy and efficiency of medical insurance claim decisions.
Starting in Singapore and Malaysia, Prudential will use MedLM to analyse documents submitted alongside health insurance claims, such as diagnostic reports, prescriptions and invoices. MedLM supports human decision-making with its ability to extract relevant information and code it accurately for claims, helping to reduce the potential for errors caused by manual data entry, so claims can be processed faster and more accurately.
The announcement follows several proof-of-concept tests by Prudential that showed its use of MedLM doubled the automation rate of claim reviews and assessments, in addition to improving the accuracy of claims decisions. This allows allowing the insurer to handle a higher volume and velocity of claims while improving overall customer experience.
Prudential will apply MedLM to select medical insurance claims made in Singapore and Malaysia over a period of 3-4 months. Doing so will help Prudential identify areas where MedLM can deliver the greatest productivity improvements and most useful advice to claims assessors, while maintaining human interaction at critical stages of the decision-making process.
Speaking at the partnership announcement, Arjan Toor, CEO, Health at Prudential PLC said, “Prudential’s early tests with MedLM demonstrate that generative AI can play a major role in efficiently tackling the growing volume of health insurance claims, resulting in more frictionless processing and a faster turnaround time for customers. We’re proud to pioneer this innovative approach to using MedLM to support our operational efficiency as we continue to expand our health insurance offering – while delivering our mission to be the most trusted health partner for customers in Asia and Africa.”
On his part, Karan Bajwa, Vice President, Google Cloud in Asia Pacific said, “Prudential has taken a truly innovative approach by adapting MedLM’s advanced healthcare and medical-specific capabilities to one of its core business processes. This collaboration exemplifies how our strategic partnership with Prudential can empower its workforce to drive confident decision-making, improve the overall experience for policy holders, and create meaningful innovation in healthcare and finance.”