The word ‘artificial intelligence (AI Technology) conjures up mental visions of futuristic-looking robots for many individuals, making our lives simpler through realistic emotions and behavior’s. Unfortunately, Rosie, the Robot, is not rolling through the door any time soon, as much as we would all love to have an animatronic housekeeper.
The truth is that through a carefully balanced collaboration of human judgment and data-driven research, AI technology makes our lives simpler in several ways.
Our online interactions are more personalized and tailored to our desires than ever before, with AI’s assistance. Since businesses are programming chatbots to answer the most commonly asked questions, we no longer have to call a customer service phone line and wait on hold for 15 minutes. And the health care industry is being revolutionized right before our very eyes because of AI technology.
Anything to fear is not an emerging technology. In reality, whether we think about it or not, all of us are exposed continuously to modern approaches to medicine. As of 2017, more than 75% of U.S. hospitals communicate remotely with patients and practitioners via technology, according to the American Hospital Association. In terms of background, in 2010, the number was 35%.
Face-to-face interaction between a doctor and patient can lead to valuable discoveries. However, it pales in comparison to what data can reveal.
AI-enabled wearable devices capture and track data. They can communicate with patients and report findings to doctors in real-time. Today, sleek wristwatches can detect irregular heart rate rhythms. They can also capture an electrocardiogram effortlessly. Additionally, these devices can sense when the wearer falls.
Earlier disease identification is an important way AI technology is strengthening our health care system. The Google Brain Initiative researchers have implemented deep learning techniques to create a self-optimizing algorithm that can automatically diagnose diabetic eye disease through images, a subset of machine learning, a form of AI.
The algorithm tested over 128,000 images by humans. It was trained to display distinct disease levels. The algorithm compares the severity of each image with the larger training set before evaluating the image’s severity.
The American Academy of Ophthalmology highlights that this algorithm does not replace a doctor.
The aim is to get possible issues to a doctor earlier, quicker, or in a better light for that use case and countless others so that medical care can occur at the hands of a competent physician.
AI technology analyzes and translates mammograms in breast cancer 30 times faster and with 99% precision.
Not only is that degree of accuracy medically relevant, but it can also underline the devotion of the health care community to patient-centred care by alleviating needless fear and painful biopsies induced by false-positive mammograms.
AI helps achieve cost savings and boosts efficiency for physician practice owners and hospital systems. It relies on the information at its core. This information can evaluate everything from patient census numbers to expenditures. AI can also eliminate organizational bottlenecks that clinicians have faced during the pandemic.
Although Covid-19 requires expediency, many health care systems struggled. They became bogged down with non-collaborative communication methods, like fax and email. These methods caused delays in response times. Faxes, in particular, could have been classified more efficiently. The right machine learning and AI technology could have sorted faxes faster. Employees would not have to spend time parsing through each fax. They could easily discern which fax was legitimate and which was junk mail. This would minimize delays and improve efficiency.
The random pizza menu fax received by a doctor’s office may seem harmless. However, not all spam is innocent. Fraudsters will do whatever it takes to exploit vulnerabilities. This includes targeting patient-protected health information. Some businesses have switched to AI for security solutions. For example, Boston Children’s Hospital turned to AI. Their patient records were targeted by hackers. AI helps prevent such security breaches and protects sensitive data.
It’s important to reinforce that AI technology is still in its infancy or the AI we see today. This is just the beginning of AI’s use in health care. There is still so much room for creativity and technologies that health care providers can apply to improve people’s lives.