Ways AI is Transforming Every Facet of the Healthcare Industry

Robotic Surgery

Using AI to assist doctors with surgical procedures can improve patient outcomes. Surgeon skills vary, and new experimental procedures may be a challenge for doctors. Robot surgery can reduce amount of variation in procedures. Healthcare systems are now integrating new data to help these robots learn at a faster rate. Machine learning is being used to identify the best ways to use the new AI systems. This technology is very new, but it’s accelerating at a rapid pace. Data analytics systems are being used in conjunction with machine learning to quickly identify areas of interest for further research. Some analysts believe robots will be able to complete entire surgical procedures within 50 years. Surgeons are now getting a better understanding of ways AI can be used to complete very specific procedures. The digital feedback can also be analyzed to consider ways these operations can be improved in the future.

Virtual Nursing Assistants

Virtual nursing assistants can constantly monitor patients, so this technology may be extremely useful. This AI technology is similar to the kind found in home virtual assistant devices, but the machines may be set up to monitor a patient’s heart rate or blood pressure and automatically recommend a solution. These systems can remind patients to go to appointments or take medication, and they may be combined with robotics to complete routine bedside procedures in hospitals. This is a very exciting area of AI because many of these systems could be implemented within the next decade. AI chat bots could also be used to instruct a patient about medication side effects. These powerful AI chat bots could be placed in decentralized systems. Patients may be able to ask about them on their smartphone or in specific standalone devices at the hospital. One technology consulting firm believes that implementation of these systems could save the United States $20 billion in annual healthcare costs.

Administrative Workflow Help

Paperwork comprises a large part of high healthcare costs, so AI can be used to coordinate these systems efficiently. AI can identify medical errors or other issues that may slow down the paperwork process. Medical billing and coding could also be automated. These systems will automatically identify data in records and translate it to the codes needed to bill patients and third-party companies. The AI systems could automatically consolidate these records to make them easier for data mining. Routine administrative tasks could also be automated. If a patient needs to be called about a specific issue, then an automatic AI-assisted notification could be sent out. AI chat bots could also handle specific inquires related to billing over the phone. Analysts believe effective implementation of these systems could save $18 billion annually.

If you want to read about this fascinating topic, check out this interview from Cody Moxam.