The Future of Artificial Intelligence and Healthcare

Since the onset of COVID-19, there have been many changes to the healthcare industry, with technology evolving faster than ever, hospitals, doctors, and pharmaceutical companies have had to adapt to meet their customers’ needs.

Being that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is still a new technology, many healthcare organizations are trying to understand where it can best be used in their strategies. What does this mean for the future of healthcare? What will the industry look like in the next 10 years?

Here are 4 ways AI is changing the future of healthcare:

Diagnostics

AI excels when it comes to collecting massive amounts of data, which is why it is a great tool to use for diagnostics. AI can collect patient information through medical records, genetics, and medical imaging analysis. After processing the data, AI can present the information and recommend treatment options to doctors.

Robot-Assisted Surgery

Robotically assisted surgery is used to enhance capabilities for surgeons when performing procedures, allowing surgeons to use smaller tools and make more precise incisions. Both the surgeon and the patient can benefit from AI as it collects pertinent information from medical records and data during the operation.

“Accenture, a technology consulting firm, estimates that AI-enabled, robot-assisted surgery could save the U.S. healthcare industry $40 billion annually by 2026.” – Adam Uzialko 

Virtual Nursing Assistants

Virtual nursing assistants are tools that replicate the behavior of a physical nurse. Similar to an Alexa on your nightstand, this voice-powered tool assists the patient with their daily routines. For example, the virtual assistant will remind the patient to take their medication, go to their appointments, and answer medical questions.

“Accenture estimates that virtual nursing assistants could be the second-largest source of annual savings for the U.S. healthcare industry, cutting as much as $20 billion in costs.” – Adam Uzialko

Patient Engagements

When it comes to patient engagement, AI is quickly evolving and being used more and more every day by healthcare organizations. Automated scheduling and appointment reminders are already a common tool that will quickly lead to patient engagement being mostly robotic in the near future.

Chatbots will become commonly used by patients who have questions or are concerned about a specific medical condition. Instead of waiting for a response from a doctor, patients will be able to conveniently ask the chatbot questions at any time, even in the middle of the night.

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“The healthcare industry could be headed toward yet another high-tech makeover (even as it continues to adapt to the advent of electronic health records systems and other healthcare IT products) as artificial intelligence (AI) improves. Could AI applications become the new normal across virtually every sector of the healthcare industry? Many experts believe it is inevitable and coming sooner than you might expect.” – Adam Uzialko 

Read more about AI and the future of healthcare.