AI in Healthcare: Advancing Patient Care through Technology

Nowadays, AI in healthcare has emerged as a transformative force, revolutionizing healthcare industries and shaping how we work and interact. The rapid advancements in AI technologies have unleashed a wave of innovation, offering unprecedented opportunities for progress across various domains. Within the next 5 years, 70% of global business leaders believe that AI will significantly impact their industry. Moreover, in 2021, a global survey of healthcare organizations revealed that approximately 20% were at an early stage of adopting AI models, with models in production for less than two years.

In this blog, we will give you some knowledge about AI in healthcare and discover the diverse ways in which this technology is poised to reshape the landscape of the healthcare industry. Let’s check it out!

What is AI in Healthcare?

Healthcare is known as the organized system of medical services and resources. It is designed to promote, maintain, and restore health, prevent disease, and manage illnesses or injuries. AI in healthcare refers to the application of artificial intelligence technologies in the field of healthcare to enhance medical diagnosis, treatment, patient care, and management of healthcare systems. 

AI in healthcare involves the use of machine learning algorithms, deep learning, natural language processing (NLP), computer vision, and other AI techniques to analyze, and interpret complex medical data, make predictions, assist in decision-making, and automate various tasks.

For those who don’t know, AI in healthcare encompasses a wide range of IT solutions, such as telehealth, custom EMR/EHR, patient engagement software, healthcare information exchange, and so on. 

> Related: Top 6 AI Trends in 2024 You Should Know

Some AI Applications in Healthcare

Though AI in healthcare is relatively new, it has already shown its potential in various areas of healthcare. These areas include diagnosing patients, and analyzing medical images, providing personalized treatment recommendations, discovering and developing new drugs. So, how does it work when applying AI in healthcare? Let’s explore each of these areas in more detail.

Patient Diagnosis and Medical Imaging

AI algorithms can analyze medical images such as X-rays, CT scans, and MRIs, assisting radiologists in detecting and diagnosing diseases like cancer, cardiovascular conditions, and neurological disorders. By creating quality images, AI can help improve accuracy, speed up the process, and identify subtle patterns that human eyes might miss.

For example, HixClinic – an online appointment booking app leverages the advance of AI to analyze the health level of hair through photos. After analyzing the hair health, HixClinic gives patients advice and warning about their hair’s status. Also, by applying some AI tools, HixClinic can answer the survey about hair improvement, and then increase the customer experience.

HixClinic App

Thus, AI has the potential to greatly help in the field of healthcare imaging. Just like AMELA, many other healthcare providers and technology companies are actively working on this application because they believe it holds a lot of promise for improving healthcare.

Drug Discovery and Development

Moving on to the next AI application in healthcare drugs is discovery and development. AI in healthcare can accelerate drug discovery by analyzing vast amounts of biomedical data, including scientific literature, clinical trial results, and molecular structures. According to a study published in the journal PLOS One, AI in healthcare can reduce the time required for early-stage drug discovery by approximately 50%. 

For instance, companies like BenevolentAI use AI to design new drugs with specific properties such as improved efficacy or reduced side effects. They have successfully developed drug candidates for cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and other conditions. Exscientia, took advantage of AI in healthcare to analyze vast datasets of biological data to identify a previously unknown protein involved in ALS progression. 

Personalized Treatment and Care Recommendations

Advanced machine learning algorithms, trained on massive datasets of genetic profiles, and more, can now generate personalized treatment recommendations, identify disease patterns, and even predict individual patient responses to specific therapies. This data-driven approach to healthcare paves the way for truly personalized and optimized care plans.

AI in healthcare is capable of learning from and building upon vast amounts of patient data, which holds immense potential for real-time health monitoring and proactive interventions. But how? By analyzing medical history, lifestyle factors, and real-time health data, AI in healthcare can provide personalized insights, and recommendations for disease prevention and healthy living across various platforms, empowering individuals to take an active role in their health.

The integration of specialized chatbots powered by AI in healthcare workflows offers a promising avenue for providing patients with immediate, personalized, and accessible medical advice. As a result, AI in healthcare can leverage its understanding of individual patient data and medical knowledge to deliver context-aware recommendations and support, enhancing patient engagement and satisfaction. 

Benefits of AI in Healthcare You Should Notice

AI in healthcare can bring many advantages to our daily lives such as workflow automation, heightened patient engagement, etc. Check them in detail below!

Workflow Automation

AI transcends human limitations in data analysis, processing vast amounts of information, including nuanced patient details, at lightning speed. This comprehensive analysis, informed by real-time updates and extensive medical databases, empowers healthcare professionals to develop precise treatment plans and optimize patient care pathways within an ever-evolving knowledge landscape. 

Moreover, AI-powered systems can automate administrative tasks, such as documentation, appointment scheduling, and billing, which frees up healthcare professionals’ time for more direct patient care. And so, this automation can improve efficiency, reduce errors, and enhance overall workflow in healthcare settings.

Heightened Patient Engagement

AI in healthcare transforms passive data into active insights. Timely reminders visualized progress reports, and personalized risk predictions based on individual inputs empower patients to become informed participants in their healthcare journey, fostering a collaborative relationship with providers.

Predictive Analytics

By analyzing patient data such as medical history, lifestyle factors, and genetic information, AI algorithms can generate predictive models that assess an individual’s risk of developing specific conditions. This enables healthcare providers to intervene early, initiate preventive measures, and improve patient outcomes.

Thanks to the predictive analytics of AI in healthcare, this can help healthcare organizations identify areas where costs can be reduced without compromising patient care. By analyzing data on resource utilization, patient outcomes, and treatment effectiveness, AI algorithms can identify inefficiencies, recommend process improvements, and optimize resource allocation. And so, this can result in cost savings for healthcare systems and potentially lower healthcare costs for patients.

Remote Monitoring and Telemedicine

Why remote monitoring and telemedicine is considered as one of the key benefits of AI in healthcare? Do you know? In case you don’t know, here are some explanations!

Remote monitoring and telemedicine overcome geographical barriers and provide access to healthcare services for individuals in remote or underserved areas. Through virtual consultations, patients can connect with healthcare professionals, reducing the need for travel and improving access to specialized care. This is particularly beneficial for patients who have limited mobility, live in rural areas, or face challenges in accessing healthcare facilities.

Besides, AI-powered remote monitoring allows healthcare providers to collect real-time patient data outside of traditional healthcare settings. Wearable devices, sensors, and mobile apps can track virtual signs, activity levels, sleep patterns, and other health parameters. Almost AI algorithms can analyze this data, detect abnormalities, and notify healthcare professionals about potential issues. 

> Related: Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare: Transforming Diagnosis, Treatment, and Patient Care

Challenges and Risks of AI in Healthcare

While AI in healthcare has the potential to revolutionize the industry, from early disease detection to personalized treatment plans. However, implementing this powerful technology in healthcare comes with its own set of challenges and risks.

Ethical Considerations

Empowering AI in healthcare to suggest new medical solutions based on complex data analysis holds immense potential in healthcare. Yet, this exciting avenue raises a critical ethical concern: How do we guarantee these AI-driven recommendations prioritize the patient’s well-being and align with their specific needs? The urgency of this question demands robust ethical frameworks to guide AI’s role in shaping healthcare decisions.

Lack of Transparency

When healthcare decisions are made based on AI recommendations, it is important to understand how the AI arrived at those conclusions. Without transparency, it becomes difficult for users to trust and have confidence in the AI’s output. As a result, this leads to resistance and reluctance to adopt AI technologies.

Furthermore, in healthcare, it is essential to be able to explain and understand the reasoning behind medical decisions. However, certain AI algorithms, particularly deep learning neural networks, operate as complex and unclear “black boxes”. They can provide accurate predictions, but the underlying process is often not easily interpretable or explainable. This lack of explainability can be problematic when clinicians need to justify treatment plans or explain outcomes to patients.

Data Quality and Bias

AI systems heavily rely on the quality of the data used for training and decision-making. If the input data is incomplete, inconsistent, or contains errors, it can lead to inaccurate and unreliable results. Hence, in healthcare, relying on flawed data can result in incorrect diagnoses, treatment recommendations, or predictions. 

For example, if the training data predominantly includes certain demographic groups, the AI system may perform less accurately for underrepresented populations, leading to unequal access to quality healthcare or misdiagnosed.

> Related: Generative AI: What Does It Mean for Security?

AI in Healthcare Examples

Recently, Google’s DeepMind developed an AI system that analyzes retinal images to detect diabetic retinopathy, a leading cause of blindness. For example, in a study conducted in collaboration with the UK’s NHS. The AI system achieved similar accuracy to human experts in identifying the condition, enabling early intervention and treatment for patients. By the way, the University of Chicago Medical Center also implemented an AI system called eCART. It uses MC algorithms to analyze electronic health records and predict patient deterioration. By identifying subtle patterns and changes in vital signs, the system can alert healthcare providers in advance, allowing for timely intervention and reducing the risk of adverse events.

Summary

In conclusion, the future of AI in healthcare holds immense promise. By leveraging the power of AI in healthcare, we can expect improved disease detection, personalized treatment approaches, and more. While challenges remain, the continued collaboration between healthcare professionals will be crucial in transforming healthcare.

Besides, at AMELA, we provide a wide range of healthcare solutions from hospital and practice management, custom EMR/EHR, telehealth, and patient engagement software to healthcare information exchange. 

Contact us through the following information:

• Hotline: (+84)904026070
• Email: hello@amela.tech
• Address: 5th Floor, Tower A, Keangnam Building, Urban Area new E6 Cau Giay, Pham Hung, Me Tri, Nam Tu Liem, Hanoi

Editor: AMELA Technology