For decades, we’ve seen how technology has taken medicine and healthcare to a whole new level. Similarly, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), being the most advanced technologies to date, are also rapidly changing the healthcare landscape, promising a future where everyone gets personalized, precise, and predictive medicine.
This combination of AI and medical science is poised to revolutionize patient care, from diagnosis and treatment to an efficient management system. Rising costs for medical treatments and growing patient needs and workforce shortages are all pressing challenges AI tools can solve.
All this is possible because of AI’s inherent power to process vast and complex medical data and find insights and patterns that make medical procedures quicker and more effective. In this blog, we’ll look at how AI and Machine Learning are transforming patient care.
Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare
To put it simply, AI in healthcare refers to the use of the above-mentioned technologies to improve the experiences of both patients and healthcare professionals. Its capabilities in data processing and predictive analysis help doctors make faster and more accurate diagnoses, health administrators find digital health records quicker, and patients get timelier and personalized treatments.
The benefits of AI in healthcare range from precision in disease diagnosis to innovations in medicine discovery. AI also plays a role in predictive analytics, robotic surgeries, and virtual health assistants, along with healthcare chatbots.
Let’s now explore the practical uses of AI in healthcare.
Applications of AI in Healthcare
AI-Powered Diagnostics
Using vast datasets from a patient’s medical records and from existing research in science and medicine, AI systems find patterns and correlations that may be missed by human clinicians.
A prime example is IBM’s Watson for Oncology, which uses ML algorithms to analyze data from millions of cancer cases and suggests treatment options with a 90% accuracy in lung cancer diagnoses. This is a significant improvement in the 50% accuracy for normal diagnoses.
As AI technology advances, its impact on diagnostics will continue to grow, offering even greater benefits to patients and health providers.
Medical Imaging
AI algorithms can identify cancer cells and strokes with higher precision when analyzing medical images like X-rays, CT scans and pathology slides. This is due to its ability to find patterns from vast amounts of visual data from previous successful diagnoses.
Google claims that its AI algorithms can find cancerous lesions more accurately than radiologists, reducing false positives by 5.7%. This was back in 2020 when they collaborated with DeepMind, with data from over 100,000 women.
Pathology
AI algorithms receive training from vast datasets of digitized tissue samples with corresponding diagnoses. So, when given a new tissue sample, they find subtle patterns and classify cells with exceptional accuracy that studies have shown to be more accurate than highly trained pathologists. For instance, a recent study showed how an AI system identified cancerous lesions in prostate biopsies with a higher accuracy than experienced pathologists.
Personalized Treatment Plans
The best patient care is when a person gets a treatment plan unique to that person. However, it is not always easy for doctors and healthcare professionals to give individual attention to patients.
One way AI solves this issue is through precision medicine, by predicting effective treatment procedures based on the patient’s specific data. For example, in oncology, AI tools analyze data points, such as a patient’s medical history, genetic profile, lifestyle choices, past treatment results, and living environment, to recommend personalized drug combinations, which promise better treatment outcomes and fewer side effects.
AI can also be used to adjust drug doses for a single patient based on factors like their weight, age, organ function, and genetic predispositions.
Streamlining Administrative Tasks
AI can automate routine tasks like data entry, claims processing, and appointment scheduling. AI can also reduce human error by providing a faster way to review health records, medical imaging, claims processing, and test results.
- Automating electronic health records management: AI analyses patient data, detects errors, and reduces duplicate records, which means more accurate record-keeping.
- Revenue cycle management: AI can analyze patient data to identify potential billing errors and ensure accurate coding, streamlining the revenue cycle and reducing financial losses for hospitals.
- Clinical documentation improvement: AI-powered documentation assistants can automatically review clinical notes, reducing errors and freeing up healthcare workers to focus on patient care.
Benefits of AI in Healthcare
Increased Accuracy and Efficiency
By rapidly processing large volumes of medical data, identifying subtle patterns in diagnostics and imaging that may be missed by human observers, and automating administrative tasks such as record-keeping and clinical documentation, thereby reducing errors and improving overall patient care outcomes
Early Disease Detection
AI has advanced pattern recognition algorithms that find subtle indicators that could mean the onset of serious health conditions, like breast cancer, at stages that are typically challenging for human radiologists to identify.
Reduced Healthcare Costs
AI reduces healthcare costs by enabling early disease detection, improving diagnostic accuracy, and optimizing operational efficiencies such as streamlined administrative tasks, all of which contribute to minimizing unnecessary medical treatments and enhancing resource allocation in hospitals and medical facilities.
24/7 Availability
AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants can answer patients’ queries, schedule appointments, and give necessary health advice whenever patients need them.
The Future of AI in Healthcare
Over the coming years, patient care will be transformed with AI-driven innovations in areas like clinical trials, medical devices, and personalized medicine. Robotic surgical systems and wearable health monitoring devices are seeing faster upgrades all of which enhance the precision and effectiveness of medical procedures while enabling continuous patient monitoring in the absence of a medical professional.
However, while AI continues to advance healthcare, human healthcare professionals will always be essential for giving compassionate, ethical, and patient-centred care. Experts suggest that AI should be viewed as a tool to add to the capabilities of healthcare professionals, not replace them.
AI in Healthcare: A Tool, not a Replacement
While AI and Machine Learning are revolutionizing healthcare with personalized, precise, and predictive medicine, there are significant biases inherent in these technologies. AI systems learn from past data, which may contain historical biases, leading to skewed results that reflect existing disparities in healthcare. For example, AI algorithms trained on data that lacks diversity may produce less accurate diagnoses or treatment recommendations for underrepresented groups. Additionally, AI tools might misinterpret medical nuances without the context and judgment a human clinician provides. Ultimately, while AI enhances efficiency and decision-making, human healthcare professionals remain essential for delivering compassionate, ethical, and patient-centered care, ensuring that final decisions are balanced and contextually appropriate.
Takeaway
This blog explored the many ways Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) are revolutionizing healthcare. From powering AI-powered diagnostics and medical imaging analysis to streamlining administrative tasks and personalizing treatment plans, AI offers a multitude of benefits for both patients and healthcare professionals.
In essence, AI applications in healthcare translate to increased accuracy and efficiency, leading to earlier disease detection, reduced healthcare costs, and even 24/7 patient support through chatbots and virtual assistants. As AI technology continues to evolve, we can expect even more transformative innovations in areas like clinical trials, medical devices, and personalized medicine. However, it’s important to remember that AI should be seen as a powerful tool to augment the capabilities of healthcare professionals, not replace them entirely. The future of healthcare lies in the synergy between human expertise and AI’s advanced capabilities, ultimately leading to a future of personalized, precise, and predictive medicine for all.
Cabot Technology Solutions: Your Partner in AI-Driven Healthcare
At Cabot, we have proven expertise in working with AI in healthcare. We understand the intricacies of both AI technology and the specific needs of the healthcare industry. Our team can guide you through the entire process of implementing AI solutions, from identifying the most suitable applications for your organization to ensuring seamless integration with existing systems. With Cabot by your side, you can leverage the power of AI to improve patient care, streamline operations, and achieve your healthcare goals.