Healthcare providers are working on solutions that will allow them to maintain or improve healthcare quality while at the same time trying to reduce or keep costs constant. Can it be done? And, is AI one of the answers?
We have all been reading articles over the last few years about how AI will change the face of healthcare. Articles that have alarmed healthcare employees that their jobs are going away other articles expressing the thought that AI will be just one more tool in the tool chest and that human employees will assigned other jobs focused on more serious, unique problems.
As AI continues to develop, have those earlier suggested uses changed? Have they grown? Have the potential impacts changed?
As I think about articles that I have read about the coming of AI, I can remember that using “big data” will allow AI to be used to predict disease outbreaks. Using one of AI’s strengths, that being data analysis, to plow through data and to draw conclusions from it. That is still a strength.
I have read about using AI to analyze medical images, such as MRI, CT scans, and X-rays, for early disease detection. AI can also help to diagnose conditions from the patterns in a patient’s medical history and health records. In addition, we have heard about the 360-degree body scanner that will be driven by AI, looking for skin anomalies.
And, we have also heard about AI being used for robotic surgery, giving it more precision, and for telehealth where chatbots can provide medical consultation, triage patients, monitor patient’s health, and provide reminders about medications.
So, what are some of the newer frontiers where we are hearing that AI might be helpful?
One is precision medicine where AI can help doctors understand patient’s genetics, lifestyle, and environment to tailor treatments at an individual level. This approach has the potential to improve treatment outcomes (quality).
I hadn’t even considered that AI could help develop treatment plans by analyzing a patient’s unique symptoms, medical history, and then consult and compare them to the latest medical research.
In an updated “Operation Warp Speed” scenario, AI can be tasked to accelerate the discovery and testing of new drugs. AI can analyze large databases of existing medicines and diseases to identify potential new applications or to create entirely new medicines. AI has the power to bring all that data together and identify relationships and probabilities.
I should have probably mentioned this above, because it tends to cause the most human concern, AI can streamline administrative tasks such as scheduling appointments, billing, and patient pre-screening, thereby freeing up time for healthcare professionals to focus on patient care.
AI can also be used to train our physicians and other healthcare providers of tomorrow by simulating complex surgical/medical procedures or rare medical cases. And, given our current mental health crisis, AI chatbots and apps can provide basic mental health support, direct users to appropriate resources, or provide therapeutic interventions such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).
All of these potential benefits do not come without cost. With access to all those big databases and with the ability to analyze them and to draw conclusions, privacy concerns, the need for explanation, potential biases in AI algorithms, and ensuring that human oversight and empathy remain a central part of patient care are key.
We are seeing the next generation of healthcare developing before our very eyes. The benefits are immense and the guardrails are a must!
By: Jaime Caldwell, President of SFHHA
