What is Artificial Intelligence?
Artificial intelligence is the buzzword but what exactly is artificial intelligence that is disrupting all the major industries including healthcare. In simplified words, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is an area of research and development that focuses on enabling machines to make intelligent decisions based on the data provided.
AI is more in use, with self-driving cars which is a major success and consumers across the globe are now using it. In healthcare the use of artificial intelligence is not new now, however, there is still a lot to achieve and become a norm ultimately.
Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare
The healthcare industry has seen a gradual inclusion of artificial intelligence over the years. With the tech-based reforms of healthcare, most of the processes in the clinical settings are now technology dependent. Every day, huge health care data is piling up and is opening new avenues of utilizing that data for multiple uses and one example of it is ‘Population Health’.
During the last decade, the healthcare system has shifted to practice management systems from a paper-based environment. Increased use of EMR, EHR, and other healthcare applications has made possible the innovative use of technologies that are disrupting other industries. When these practice management tools are instrumental in gathering important healthcare data, AI is enabling the system to make intelligent decisions and help physicians at every step.
For instance, today if a physician enters patient notes and prescribes a medicine, the AI-supported EHR software is capable of alerting physicians if they find any anomaly in the prescription. The AI-supported EHRs notify physicians with drug-drug and drug-allergy alerts and restrains them from taking the wrong decision. There is no doubt that AI is saving lives and this promising part of the technology has got a huge role to play in healthcare.
Not only it is limited to that, but these intelligent applications are also capable of automating healthcare billing services by suggesting the corresponding ICD and CPT codes along with the required lab procedures.
AI-supported healthcare applications are capable of managing all areas of clinical flow. These technologies are sending alerts, creating reminders and are helping users at every step. Clinicians are now guided through the system which is setting the timelines, archiving health records and is capable of cross-linking the healthcare data. The use of intelligent technologies is no doubt streamlining the workflows rather it is proving helpful in minimizing the cost.
Some futurists are forecasting more than that and are of the view that at some point in the future, AI-based healthcare technologies would replace even the doctors. However, currently, we can clearly observe the supportive role of artificial intelligence in a physician’s office. Although machines are getting intelligent healthcare is more sensitive than other industries. For instance, we can take some level of risk by submitting over car steering to a machine but healthcare is sensitive where minor negligence can be fatal for patients.
Therefore, human intervention is required where machines can assist the physicians to take AI-supported decisions. So far the automation that AI is bringing to healthcare is helpful in streamlining the various processes.
AI is not only proving useful in a physician’s office it is also helping consumers to connect remotely and transmit healthcare data to AI-supported systems. In the past few years, we have seen increased use of healthcare wearable gadgets that are capable of transmitting real-time vitals to providers and AI-supported systems can alert in case of any anomalies.
Future of Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare
We are observing a rapid transformation of processes in healthcare which has been either partially controlled or completely steered by intelligent software technologies. Currently, AI is transforming and improving many areas which include but not limited to:
- AI-assisted diagnosis and prescriptions
- Analysis of medical images
- Drug and lab assistance
- Automation of medical procedures
- Population health management
- Data sciences
- Operating room supervision
- Risk analysis
- Virtual assistance
- Tele-health and robotic surgeries
- Wearable healthcare technologies
- Automaton of healthcare billing services
There is no doubt about the benefits that artificial intelligence can bring to clinicians and healthcare providers. The use of predictive analytics based on the existing data is just one use of AI in healthcare. Intelligent use of technologies can help in many other areas as well. For instance, a big problem in healthcare is the existence of human-made errors at every level. Errors in bug hospital systems, medical errors, and errors in medical billing are costing the system billions of dollars and loss of precious human life.
Artificial Intelligence can help healthcare billing services providers in reducing the errors and mistakes in the system and can save huge costs every year.
