Artificial intelligence (AI), often referred to as the “new nervous system of health care,” has emerged as a major development engine for the sector. The global AI in the healthcare market is anticipated to reach a value of $22,790 million by 2023, with a CAGR of 48.7% from 2017 to 2023, according to a study by Allied Market Research. AI in healthcare has been created to supplement human talents, such as helping with surgery or medical condition diagnosis.
AI in healthcare has created a more productive, efficient, and cost-effective ecosystem in the long run, delivering superior long-term outcomes. Every second counts when a patient has a stroke, yet getting medical attention can take hours if the patient is in a distant or difficult-to-reach area.
High-speed, high-quality imaging that can help determine the type and location of the clot or bleeding has the potential to be made possible by AI. This may lead to automated detection and quicker treatment decision-making, improving the patient’s chance of recovery.
AI and other technologies power health tech.
Various intelligent technologies, including machine learning (ML), data analytics, robotics, and natural language processing, serve as the foundation for AI (NLP). Other technologies, such as blockchain, augmented/virtual reality, and IoT, are crucial in the contemporary environment. Better health outcomes could be achieved thanks to the combined power of these technologies.
With significant progress in biomedical research, medical education, surgery, healthcare delivery, and data administration, AI-led developments in the healthcare sector have the potential to improve our lives significantly.
As technology advances, AI can address numerous healthcare industry pain points and give patients guidance on the corrective actions they need for a particular or chronic disease, all from the convenience of their own homes.
Let’s examine the effects of AI-based advancements on the healthcare sector:
Customized care
In medicine, tailoring therapies to the person results in greater precision. A remarkable transition from the traditional clinical-environment model of care delivery to a highly tailored care structure is currently taking place in the modern healthcare infrastructure.
AI can make treatment decisions and customize the dosage of medication or radiation therapy needed at different stages of disease using medical scans and health records, which lowers the likelihood of treatment failure. True individual healthcare management is made possible by wearable technologies that provide real-time health data and predictive model algorithms based on machine learning.
Electronic consumer
The shift in healthcare delivery is centered on people, from passive patients to engaged customers. AI and other intelligent technologies are reshaping the interaction between patients and their providers by giving patients access to their medical records and diagnostic results and the chance to make wise decisions about their health management. The profile of the digital consumer has changed as a result of AI, from chatbots that can quickly triage patients to algorithms that compile price lists from the closest health centers, from the management of prescription deliveries online to searching for specialist doctors, scheduling appointments, and sharing real-time health data with them through IoT devices.
Robotics-assisted diagnostics (such as computer vision, diabetic retinopathy, etc.) give the medical community new tools to solve age-old issues, enabling quicker and wiser decision-making.
Remote care
Hospital services are brought right to the patient’s door through telehealth and telemedicine, making the doctor or hospital location independent. A virtual care system can be put up that lets doctors track patient health in real-time, digitally diagnose issues, and even perform remote, low-risk surgeries thanks to technologies like AR/VR. Without cutting the patient’s body open, augmented reality can provide a detailed representation of the patient’s anatomy. Imperial College and St. Mary’s Hospital have begun utilizing these advantages in the UK when performing reconstructive surgery on patients who have suffered serious injuries.
Higher life expectancy
By enabling early interventions for chronic diseases or urgent medical crises, AI in the form of in-home sensors, the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT), or wearable technologies assists people in living longer and healthier lives. Various advances work by feeding AI-powered software with patient data from these devices, gathering, detecting, and reporting changes in a patient’s health. Healthcare professionals can take immediate action once signs of a deteriorating health status appear.
Using big data and predictive analytics, the consumption of resources in emergency rooms and urgent care facilities is predicted. This makes it possible to efficiently and accurately map out staffing levels to make changes in patient flow into account, which lowers wait times and avoidable congestion while raising patient satisfaction.
Electronic health records documenting a patient’s medical history, including allergies, past and present health conditions, genetic concerns, etc., are one of the most important components of a patient’s health profile. Blockchain technology can make this digitally secure, which decreases the time needed to access a patient’s information, increases system interoperability, and enhances data quality.
Important factors that influence technology adoption
A new set of issues relating to ethics, transparency, privacy, and data security have evolved with adoption of these sophisticated and developing technologies. Privacy regulations and ethical norms must match the rate of technology innovation. Strict digital policies and legal compliances must back smart systems since cybersecurity is essential for any technology’s success and ensures patient data’s security.
It is vital to combine digital technologies with a human touch to create a truly disruptive revolution in the healthcare sector, which is a dynamic, empathic-driven market. Therefore, digital companies need to be aware of the always-evolving problems faced by physicians and patients and the anxieties and frustrations that arise from different stages of healthcare. AI and other technologies provide the tools, but it is up to the individuals handling the data to ensure its security.
What’s coming up?
According to a recent Accenture research, the U.S. may save $150 billion annually by 2026 thanks to AI applications in the healthcare sector. Numerous application areas exist where AI-based solutions can aid in increasing output, eliminating or at least reducing the margin for human error, and making expertise that is limited or completely unavailable in some regions available.
Having said that, people—both those who require care and those who work tirelessly to provide it—are at the core of connected care, not just technological skills. The onus of accountability ultimately rests with hospitals, health tech firms, care providers, and regulators. By creating a sufficient legislative and regulatory framework that aligns with technological advancements, it is important to ensure that the necessary checks and balances are in place when utilizing these technologies in the healthcare industry.