The promise of artificial intelligence (AI) to improve outcomes in matters of our health, particularly in matters of life and death, is enticing. While there are many challenges to overcome before AI-powered health care becomes a reality, the most significant of which are data privacy concerns and concerns about poorly managed care due to human oversight gaps and machine error, there is enough promise that governments, tech companies, and healthcare providers are willing to invest in and test out AI-powered tools and solutions.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to dramatically transform the healthcare industry over the next several years by enabling businesses to operate more efficiently and supporting physicians in providing better patient care. However, today’s Chief Information Officers (CIOs) and other IT professionals are still in the process of transition and have not fully embraced the latest AI capabilities. According to Laura Craft, vice president, and analyst at Gartner, getting people to accept the results is an issue that must be solved in order to employ AI to improve outcomes and processes.

AI has the potential to improve organizational effectiveness, reduce medical errors, and improve patient outcomes for healthcare practitioners. In fact, when applied to their full capacity, the most recent AI advancements, such as machine learning, language processing, and predictive analytics, are improving the accuracy of medical care to new heights. The global artificial intelligence (AI) in the healthcare market, which was valued at US$10.4 billion in 2021, is expected to increase at a CAGR of 38.4% from 2022 to 2030.

Here, we provide five real-world examples of AI’s use in healthcare.

• Improve Employee Patient Experience

Many hospitals and healthcare organizations place a high value on patient satisfaction. With machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI), patient data can become priceless, providing insights into areas where the patient journey can be enhanced. Because patient experience is linked to higher compliance and treatment adherence, machine learning systems give hospitals the opportunity to improve overall health outcomes.

Furthermore, AI has the potential to provide more convenient and tailored healthcare. Chatbots can help healthcare businesses boost patient satisfaction. According to a Pegasystems poll of 2,000 healthcare consumers conducted in 2019, more than half (42%) of respondents said they felt comfortable with their doctors using AI to make healthcare decisions, indicating that many people are pleased to see AI being used.

AI can be extremely beneficial to healthcare workers since it can automate many manual tasks, freeing up their time and reducing burnout. Administrative and routine tasks can consume up to 70% of a healthcare professional’s time, which AI can help eliminate or reduce.

• Artificial Intelligence for expedited care:

AI can help clinicians take a more comprehensive approach to disease management, better coordinate care plans, and assist patients in better managing and adhering to their long-term treatment plans, in addition to assisting providers in identifying chronically ill individuals who may be at risk of an adverse episode.

Medical robots have been in use for more than 30 years. They range from simple laboratory robots to very advanced surgical robots that can operate alongside human surgeons or on their own. In addition to surgery, they are utilized in hospitals and labs for repetitive tasks, rehabilitation, physical therapy, and support for persons with long-term issues.

• Online nursing assistants:

By conversing with patients and directing them to the appropriate care environment, virtual nursing assistants might help the healthcare industry save $20 billion every year. Virtual nurses can reply rapidly to inquiries, monitor patients, and are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. To reduce hospital readmissions or unnecessary hospital stays, the majority of virtual nurse assistant software now allows patients and care providers to communicate more often between office visits.

• Evaluation And Diagnosis:

As telehealth solutions, such as virtual health assistants, become available to help people recognize if they are perhaps sick and what the next steps should be, the use of AI-enabled self-triage is becoming more common. Improved medical diagnosis and triage are two key AI skills that can help in this industry. Prognostic modeling, or anticipating how a patient’s disease will likely progress, can also be used to improve treatment recommendations. Given the probable shortage of medical professionals, it is critical to consider the role AI can play in identifying patient risk and prognosis.

• Increasing access to medical care in emerging countries

In undeveloped countries around the world, a lack of skilled medical experts, such as radiologists and ultrasound technologists, can severely limit access to life-saving care. The twelve hospitals that comprise Boston’s renowned Longwood Avenue employ more radiologists than all of West Africa. Artificial intelligence may be able to mitigate the consequences of the considerable scarcity of competent clinical practitioners by taking over some of the diagnostic activities normally given to humans.

For example, when screening chest x-rays for signs of tuberculosis, AI imaging tools may frequently attain a level of accuracy comparable to humans. If this capability could be accomplished by an app made available to healthcare providers in undeveloped places, a qualified diagnostic radiologist would not be required to be present.