Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare

Written by Bahar Madani

Artificial intelligence, sometimes called machine intelligence, is intelligence demonstrated by machines, unlike the natural intelligence displayed by humans and animals. Artificial intelligence in healthcare is utilizing complex algorithms and software to imitate human cognition in the analysis and interpretation of complex medical and healthcare data. Programs have been developed and applied to practices such as diagnosis processes, treatment protocol development, drug development, personalized medicine, and patient monitoring and care. Additionally, hospitals are looking to AI software to support operational initiatives that increase cost-saving, improve patient satisfaction, and satisfy their staffing and workforce needs. The use of AI is predicted to decrease medical costs as there will be more accuracy in diagnosis and better predictions in the treatment plan as well as more prevention of disease.

According to a new report from the world bank and WHO, At least half of the world’s population cannot obtain essential health services. And each year, large numbers of households are being pushed into poverty because they must pay for health care out of their own pockets. Currently, 800 million people spend at least 10 percent of their household budgets on health expenses for themselves, a sick child or other family members. For almost 100 million people these expenses are high enough to push them into extreme poverty, forcing them to survive on just $1.90 or less a day. The problem is that many communities around the world do not have access to a medical doctor when they need it. Some need to travel hours, maybe days, just to see a doctor, which is dangerous and unfair. Three deficiencies that factor into diminished access to healthcare in developing nations are lack of knowledge, lack of medical practitioners and lack of resources. Because healthcare systems in developing countries are endemically short of medical workers, the Implementation of AI applications have the potential to fill this gap.

AI promotes growth in three ways: The intelligent automation of the workforce, augmentation of labor and physical capital and creation of opportunities for new skills, business ideas and services. The widespread use of AI in education, medical care, environmental protection, urban operations, judicial services, and other fields will greatly improve the level of precision in public services. It is likely that AI technologies will be able to accurately sense, forecast, and provide early warning of major situations for infrastructure facilities and social security operations; and take desired actions, which will play an important role in effectively maintaining social stability. From the time of patient entry into hospital until reporting the result to the clinician, AI has the potential to do wonders. It can automatically link prior patient records to the current imaging and schedule the patient accordingly, based on the need of the patient as well as automatically detect emergency findings, which would only need to be confirmed by radiologists once, thus leading to effective treatment.

The adoption of AI in the healthcare sector can have far-reaching implications in terms of augmenting accessibility to healthcare services through early detection, diagnosis, decision-making, and treatment and is expected to see an exponential increase in the next few years. AI-based healthcare solutions such as these could enhance productivity and improve healthcare outcomes; and the time is right for healthcare providers to test and embrace AI technology and help the country to overcome present and future challenges. As resource-poor settings become more connected and the data they produce is of higher quality, the ability of AI to address health challenges will likely expand. This would allow public health agencies, such as the WHO, to investigate and monitor in real-time to model cause-and-effect relationships that could mitigate the progression of an epidemic.

Sources:

“World Bank and WHO: Half the World Lacks Access to Essential Health Services, 100 Million Still Pushed into Extreme Poverty Because of Health Expenses.” World Health Organization, 13 Dec. 2017, www.who.int/news-room/detail/13-12-2017-world-bank-and-who-half-the-world-lacks-access-to-essential-health-services-100-million-still-pushed-into-extreme-poverty-because-of-health-expenses.

Butler, Amanda. “Underdeveloped: Healthcare in Developing Nations.” Orbis Bioscience, 22 May 2015, orbisbio.com/underdeveloped-healthcare-in-developing-nations.

“Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare in Developing Nations: The Beginning of a Transformative Journey.” Cancer Research, Statistics, and Treatment, 20 Dec. 2019, www.crstonline.com/article.asp?issn=2590-3233;year=2019;volume=2;issue=2;spage=182;epage=189;aulast=Mahajan.

“Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare.” Wikipidia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_intelligence_in_healthcare#:~:text=Artificial%20intelligence%20in%20healthcare%20is,complicated%20medical%20and%20healthcare%20data.