Artificial intelligence (AI) offers healthcare providers a new world of possibilities when it comes to improving patient care. Though many healthcare facilities fail to utilize AI to its full extent, once implemented, these tools can help doctors and other medical professionals treat patients more efficiently, manage patient records more usefully and even use robotics to assist in performing difficult surgeries.
While the use of AI in the healthcare industry hasn’t yet affected every medical practice, it represents the future of healthcare. Consider the following ways AI can improve the quality of medical care.
AI as a Diagnostic Tool
Despite how well-trained and experienced a physician may be, doctors nevertheless sometimes overlook key details when reviewing the results of MRI, blood tests and other health examinations. AI software designed to read test results can catch signs of certain diseases that a physician may miss due to time constraints and triage needs.
Also, AI diagnostic tools can prevent accidental false positives that may cause patients considerable stress. In cases of rare diseases, AI software can use facial recognition technology to identify facial expressions and reactions that may indicate a disorder a physician wouldn’t ordinarily consider, increasing diagnostic accuracy significantly.
Medical Records Management
In years past, medical records were maintained by individual practitioners and lacked consistency when patients switched physicians or moved out of the area. AI technology can scan prior medical records across several record-keeping programs to provide physicians with a more complete overview of patients’ past medical history to assist them in developing the correct course of care.
Additionally, AI software now allows individual patients to access their medical record history on their own without the need to drive to their doctors’ office. Many healthcare practices now provide patients with a secure online portal where they can examine their test results, medication schedules and more.
AI to Heal Public Health Crises
Using AI in the healthcare field can also help physicians and other healthcare providers combat the opioid epidemic. Even in 2015, deaths from accidental or intentional overdoses outnumbered the number of deaths from gunshot wounds, claiming around 33,000 lives. The number of deaths from overdose have only been increasing since.
AI allows physicians to receive an alert when a patient visits another practitioner in an attempt to obtain a duplicate prescription to fuel their addiction. This process, known as doctor shopping, previously caused many patient deaths, but with AI’s ability to search in real time across medical records, doctors can minimize patient mortality.
The Rise of Telemedical Services
Telemedical services expand medical services in rural areas lacking specialists. AI connects doctors and patients together via the internet. Generally, patients still report to a medical practice, where a nurse supervises the medical sessions and takes vitals like blood pressure and body weight to assist the specialist in prescribing the right dose of medications.
Before the rise of telemedical services, patients who lived far from the nearest metro area had to travel for sometimes hundreds of miles to reach a neurologist, psychiatrist or another medical specialist.
Robots in the Surgical Suite
Robots have become so advanced that they have performed surgeries on patients. This benefits both doctor and patients significantly. Using robots for delicate micro-surgeries eliminates the chance of minor hand tremors causing a nicked vein or punctured vital organ, and getting real-time feedback from AI helps monitor patient safety more effectively.
The future of AI in the healthcare field appears bright indeed. With the use of AI in healthcare, doctors and other care providers benefit from greater access to medical records and also expand their medical practices through telemedical services. Patients benefit from improved accessed to care and fewer medical errors. AI represents the future of the healthcare industry.
The Editorial Team at Healthcare Business Today is made up of skilled healthcare writers and experts, led by our managing editor, Daniel Casciato, who has over 25 years of experience in healthcare writing. Since 1998, we have produced compelling and informative content for numerous publications, establishing ourselves as a trusted resource for health and wellness information. We offer readers access to fresh health, medicine, science, and technology developments and the latest in patient news, emphasizing how these developments affect our lives.
