How Artificial Intelligence in Medicine is Improving Healthcare (and Business)

The use of AI, or artificial intelligence, in the medical field is an emerging trend that promises exponential advances in the way we diagnose and treat a multitude of health conditions.

Advances in the application of medical AI technology are occurring at a lightning pace, with new developments rendering prior solutions obsolete in a matter of months.

In this article, we’ll review some of the ways that AI technology is making the healthcare field more efficient, improving the quality of care, raising ethical concerns, and offering medical practices a competitive advantage.

History of AI in Healthcare

As early as 1959, the medical research field has been fascinated with the potential for the application of artificial intelligence.

Early researchers envisioned a machine that could hold a vast amount of medical knowledge and possess the ability to provide potential diagnoses. In the early 1980s, the emerging field of ArtificialIntelligence in Medicine (AIM) was urged on by advancements in the storage and processing power of digital technology.

Research conducted at Rutgers, Stanford, and MIT paved the way for today’s extensive use of AI in medicine.

Predictive Diagnoses

The use of AI allows medical teams to create diagnoses based on large data sets.

The various medical tests, and the data generated, can be extremely complicated and extensive.

AI can analyze this data in seconds and observe statistical, as well as causal, relationships in the data set.

These correlations can be difficult or impossible for human researchers and health professionals to identify.

When the patient’s medical condition is precarious and requires urgent care, and accurate diagnoses, AI can provide prompt prediction to aid in the practitioner’s strategy.

Precision Medicine

Perhaps the most promising benefit of AI is precision, not only in the sense of making accurate prescriptions, but precision in terms of the application of suggested medical treatments.

AI has the capacity to utilize the patient’s genetic profile to create recommendations that are unique to the person’s code.

AI systems can store and process an essentially limitless amount of data on medical conditions, patient histories, case studies, and pharmaceutical compounds.

Another example of this precision is the use of AI driven robotic surgery equipment.

The Smart Tissue Autonomous Robot (STAR), developed by researchers at the Sheikh Zayed Institute, has been proven more accurate in performing, and making real-time modifications to, planned surgical procedures than human surgeons; however, the research cited the need for human intervention in about 40% of the cases.

AI can also make quick and accurate work of processing medical imagery.

Software can identify almost imperceptible characteristics, handle the tremendous amount of data generated by digital scanning technology, and decrease the analysis period from days to minutes.

While this technology may eventually allow the complete automation and application of medical treatments, it will almost certainly always require a human element.

The precision of AI is the perfect complement to the personal, analytical, and technical skills of human medical professionals.

Process Management For medical practices, AI technology promises greater treatment capacity, reduced medical liability, labor savings, and improved customer satisfaction.

Artificial intelligence makes sense from an entrepreneurial stand point, contributing economically to its rapid development and broad application to many industries.

Busy practices can automate (with supervision) the scheduling, check-in, diagnosis, and follow-up process, as well as obtaining process-refining feedback from patients.

This technology can improve customer retention by boosting customer involvement through consistent communication and speed of service.

Savings on personnel costs and avoiding human error is are a major factor in the adoption of AI and robotics.

Practices can reduce the need for doctors and nurses to perform routine tasks, and minimize the time required to perform essential functions.

AI equips them with the tools to provide higher-quality services, and build a differentiating competitive advantage as a technological leader in their market.

AI and Human Interaction Should your doctor or nurse be replaced by a life-like simulation driven by AI?

This is an emerging question the medical field is being forced to address due to the availability of technology, the promise of reduced labor costs, enhanced operational efficiency, and the potential reduction of liability for medical practices.

Modern processing power allows programs to speak and act with a closely human quality that could reduce the workload on medical staff, and increase the efficiency of the medical process.

Despite the logistical advantages of this technology, controversy has arisen as to the ethical considerations and social impact.

The Future of Medicine

When a device or software has no emotions, the empathy factor is removed.

Can we rely on AI to deliver emotionally difficult diagnoses? What is the value of authentic human interaction in the process?

Does emotion hinder accurate diagnoses and care?

Or, does the passion of medical personnel ensure due diligence and creative thinking?

These questions are subjective at heart, and will be a source of debate for generations.

The use of AI in medicine is entrenched, and certain to be a leading source of change in the dynamic medical field.

With the consultations services from Mars Consultations, We can work compliment all of the great research to date by using your own unique algorithms to compare data from wearables, DNA and other sources with symptoms that are predictive of cancer to find instances in early stages before each are more difficult to treat.

As artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies evolve, the developers behind each must carefully consider how to be HiPPA compliant, yet push forward aggressively as helping families to keep their loved one safe is worth the investment.