The era of disruption is approaching: When artificial intelligence penetrates into healthcare

Spiraling costs, often paralyzed facilities, uncertain production capacity, exhausted employees, hard-to-replenish labor force, coupled with a disorganized business system-all these elements that sound so pathological combine to form One of the core foundations of human society, the healthcare industry. Can the rise of artificial intelligence help hospitals and healthcare providers solve real-world problems? It is possible that, although not fast enough, progress is happening.

Despite the strong interest in healthcare AI, Capgemini pointed out in a recent survey report that “the cultural adaptation level of executive teams is still lagging behind, so the pharmaceutical, medical technology and medical technology industries that are most in need of AI blessing Organizations such as hospitals are moving more slowly." The report author also mentioned that the biggest problem lies in data. The research team found in the survey that "all types of healthcare organizations still prioritize strengthening patient care pathways and improving care outcomes." However, only about one-third of the healthcare organizations surveyed prioritize patient information. it's usable or not. "This ratio has not made significant progress compared with the previous year (2021, the survey year of the previous report)."

The good news is that many healthcare service providers are strengthening their own AI exploration efforts. Tony Ambrozie, chief information officer at Baptist Health South Florida, said, “The healthcare industry is now beginning to implement AI and machine learning solutions at a larger scale and with greater complexity. AI and machine learning will enhance the industry’s ability to understand the vast amounts of data available. ."

Ambrozie continued to add that there is no shortage of exploration opportunities in the industry. “There is a lot of room for using AI and machine learning to improve patients’ experience in accessing medical services, including improving care outcomes and collating meaningful health data that can guide specific operations. Analysis of consumption records and consumption data from past medical records can also Realizing intelligent contextual routing to help consumers and patients better manage their own health is also an important direction worth exploring next, and related attempts have been repeatedly confirmed by other industries."

Of course, the healthcare industry It is a huge whole that contains various active elements with different characteristics, so the actual situation is of course more complicated. But the period of disruption is approaching, and AI and automation have every opportunity to take on tedious tasks that previously required practitioners to memorize by rote or invest a lot of time and effort in repetitive operations. Mudit Garg, CEO of Qventus, said, "Healthcare is an extremely complex industry, and it is often the most heavily regulated industry in various countries. Practitioners need to undergo strict audits and focus on work that matters life and death to patients, and AI is expected to simplify this. Many processes.”

So, how can AI continue to evolve to meet patient needs? Ambrozie believes, “The first step is to truly understand the patient’s long-term health needs in addition to understanding short-term care needs, and this will inevitably require analyzing unimaginably large amounts of data—including genomes, demographic data, medical history, environmental factors, symptoms, etc. In fact, It would be impossible for providers to manually complete data analysis at this scale. AI and machine learning are constantly evolving to provide automated solutions for the processing and analysis of ultra-large-scale health data, ultimately helping physicians find safe and personalized treatments for each patient. Ways."

But the challenges and changes faced when promoting the development of AI go far beyond the technical scope. The research team found that “as data and AI gradually enter the healthcare field, a profound cultural change has begun. Of course, such a change cannot happen overnight. Many organizations are developing their own cultural adaptation plans, hoping to use Reserve resource data in an attractive form and build AI literacy. In short, the problem of AI is no longer just a technical problem."

People are always worried that too many AI elements may lead to a lack of personalized elements in medical care. , but as long as it is carefully considered and carefully planned, the intervention of AI is expected to enhance humanistic care. Garg explained, “Many people, including vendors, feel that AI is impersonal and does not consider patients. In fact, AI-driven automated healthcare operations can free clinicians and other practitioners from tedious manual tasks. come out to help them truly focus their full attention on patient care. There are already some AI-based products that can predict events, and the most impactful results will be incorporated into workflows to help solve problems and guide on-site users to take actions. ."

Driven by AI, the healthcare system has ushered in the following important new developments:

• More emphasis on patient-centeredness: Capgemini’s research team said, “Stakeholders now not only have a better understanding of patients’ real needs, but also have greater confidence that their needs can be met.”
• Utilize resources in a smarter way: “Providers and hospitals have limited resources, and as the global population ages, the need for care capacity will put increasing pressure on all parties. Therefore, it must Maximize the utilization of resources (including medical services, operating rooms and other facilities). The use of AI and machine learning is undoubtedly an excellent means to predict demand and optimize resource utilization. More, faster, and better care services are inevitable It can save countless precious lives."
• Expand income space. Garg believes that “AI-driven care automation can improve scheduling capabilities and maximize operating room utilization, thereby helping healthcare institutions increase operating income. By automating the discharge process, AI technology can also shorten the average time in the hospital for patients. .At the same time, hospitals are grappling with labor shortages exacerbated by the COVID-19 outbreak. Limited manpower can no longer be wasted on procedural tasks, they should be freed up to do more important work. And AI-driven care automation will make all this possible.”
• More productive research output: Capgemini’s research team observed, “Startups, large pharmaceutical companies and research institutions are also using AI technology to reshape the R&D landscape. We We see that all parties are using more new methods to select the most promising drug candidates, even including quantum computing. More value-added use cases around process reshaping, new data source absorption, patient/practitioner pain point response, etc. have jointly set off a An exciting round of competition for drug development efficiency."

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