Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming nearly every industry, and health care is no exception. AI has the potential to revolutionize health care in many ways: from improving patient outcomes, to increasing work efficiency, to reducing operating costs.
Emerging AI Trends in the Health Care Landscape
We have already seen significant ways in which AI has begun to change health care:
- Personalized medicine: AI is being used to develop personalized medicine, which is tailored specifically to the individual needs of each patient without as much manual effort from the provider. This can be done by using AI to analyze large datasets of patient data to identify patterns and trends that can be used to predict which treatments are most likely to be effective for each patient.
- Robotics: AI-powered robots are being used in a variety of health care applications, such as surgery, rehabilitation, and patient care. While it is important to realize these robots cannot replace human providers, they are able to provide a helping-hand in many processes. Robots can perform tasks that are too dangerous or difficult for humans, and they can also provide companionship and support to patients.
- Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR): VR and AR are being used to train health care professionals, provide patients with educational resources, and create immersive experiences that can help patients manage their conditions. Although often associated with one another, it’s important to distinguish that VR is used more specifically for training and simulation scenarios, while AR has the ability to provide health care professionals with real-time information and guidance.
- Natural language processing (NLP): NLP is being used to analyze patient data and clinical notes to identify patterns and trends that can be used to improve care. NLP can also be used to create chatbots that can answer patients’ questions and provide support.
How AI Can Increase Efficiency and Optimize Outcomes in Health Care
Key benefits to utilizing AI in health care include the ability to increase efficiency in processes and optimize patient outcomes. For example, AI can be used to:
- Automate tasks: AI can automate a variety of tasks in health care, such as scheduling appointments, processing paperwork, and analyzing data. This can free up health care professionals to focus on more patient-facing tasks.
- Predict risks: AI can be used to predict risks for patients, such as the risk of readmission or the risk of developing a chronic disease. This information can be used to intervene early and prevent complications.
- Reduce the number of diagnostic errors: AI-powered diagnostics can help doctors identify diseases earlier, faster, and with greater accuracy, which can lead to earlier treatment and better outcomes.
- Speed up the drug discovery process: AI can help biopharmaceutical companies develop new drugs more quickly and efficiently, which can bring new treatments to patients sooner.
- Personalize treatment: AI can be used to personalize treatment for patients, based on their individual needs and preferences. This can lead to better outcomes for patients.
- Reduce costs: AI can be used to reduce costs in health care by automating tasks, improving efficiency, optimizing processes, and preventing complications.
How Health Care Providers Can Harness the Power of AI
There is no doubt that AI is a powerful tool for health care. But with that, it’s important to recognize that there are potential negative impacts if AI is improperly implemented or utilized without a plan. The ideal way to implement use of AI in health care is to ensure that proper planning, smart investments, and appropriate training are all considered. Health care providers are then best able to harness the power of AI to improve care by:
- Investing in AI solutions: Health care providers can invest in AI solutions that can automate tasks, predict risks, and personalize treatment. This can help to improve efficiency and outcomes for patients.
- Partnering with AI companies: Health care providers can partner with AI companies to develop and deploy AI solutions that are tailored to their specific needs. This can help to ensure that AI is used effectively and efficiently.
- Training staff on AI: Health care staff need to be trained on AI so that they can use it effectively. This training should cover the basics of AI, as well as the specific AI solutions that are being used in the health care organization. The training provides the opportunity for staff to learn the true benefits of their organization’s use of AI, while alleviating any unaddressed concerns.
Partnerships for Modernization and Future-Proofing
Many stakeholders in health care are utilizing partnerships to better harness AI’s potential to optimize and modernize health care processes. Some examples include:
- Health care providers and AI companies: Health care providers can partner with AI companies to develop and deploy AI solutions that are tailored to their specific needs. This can help to ensure that AI is used effectively and efficiently.
- Health care providers and government agencies: Government agencies can partner with health care providers to fund the development and deployment of AI solutions. This can help to accelerate the adoption of AI in health care for those who have budget constraints.
- Health care providers and educational institutions: Educational institutions can partner with health care providers to train health care staff on AI. This can help to ensure that health care staff have the skills they need to use AI effectively.
By leveraging partnerships, health care providers can harness the power of AI to improve efficiency and overall outcomes for patients. This can help to make health care more affordable and accessible for everyone.
Woven Health Collective’s Commitment to the Future of Health Care
At Woven, we have invested in bringing a world-class innovation and collaboration lab space to Atlanta for health care and technology leaders. This space is a nexus for companies to come together with key opinion leaders to experience the next generation of technology, co-develop new use cases, and host events. The technology within this space will enable innovation with foundational technologies like connectivity (5G), cloud competing (MEC), and computational processing (high performance computing) – these technologies enable the next generation of tools such as IOT, AR/VR, etc.
In addition to the physical space, our team is able to structure the unstructured processes, across the continuum, to create an environment where innovation can thrive. The technologies available within our lab will truly enhance this approach to further transform the future of health care.
The bottom line: The human aspect of care cannot be replaced, and the critical analysis abilities of individuals will never be matched by AI tools. However, by utilizing the unique power of AI in purposeful methods, AI is set to assist in improving efficiency and outcomes for patients and their health journeys.
First published September 13, 2023