7 ways AI will transform health care

Artificial intelligence (AI) has revolutionized business practices across many industries. With 39% of health care providers investing in AI-related technologies, it’s safe to say it’s about to transform the medical industry as well. AI’s disruptive potential may increase profits in other sectors, but in health care, it can save lives.

While robots aren’t quite ready to replace doctors, they can help them accomplish their tasks with higher speed and precision. AI in the hospital is not just a thing of the future, either. All around the world, smart machines are already assisting medical staff in a variety of ways.

As this technology refines, machine learning will become an increasingly regular part of medicine. Here are seven ways AI will transform health care in the coming years.

1. Robot-Assisted Surgery

It may sound like something out of a sci-fi movie, but surgery robots are already in use. In 2017, more than 690,000 surgeries were assisted by robots in the U.S. alone. As these machines continue to demonstrate their worth, they’ll appear in more operating rooms.

Robotic surgeons like the da Vinci Surgical System offer more precise and less invasive movements than human hands and traditional tools. With AI, they can improve upon surgical methods. AI-enabled surgery bots can notice reactions in a patient invisible to the human eye and make necessary adjustments.

2. Early Diagnoses

Intelligent programs can quickly analyze vast amounts of information. This unique talent makes AI ideal for making preliminary diagnoses in patients. Smart machines can take note of patients’ symptoms and interpret them to make an early diagnosis while doctors make their rounds.

The accuracy of these diagnoses will improve as AI develops, but even at its current state, they can be useful. Doctors can use them as a starting-off point. A list of likely diagnoses can be a helpful resource to doctors when trying to diagnose patients as quickly as possible. They might also make health care professionals consider options they otherwise wouldn’t have thought of, increasing accuracy.

3. Administrative Assistance

Treating patients is not the only duty of health care professionals. Doctors and nurses have to take records of patient data, from symptoms to insurance information, so they can refer to them later or send them to other hospitals. This process can take time, and any issues along the way can create problems for patients and doctors alike.

IT usability is a critical part of health care, and AI can optimize it. Intelligent systems can find ways to streamline the information-sharing process, ensuring health workers get the data they need as soon as possible. AI can also handle administrative tasks like scheduling and logistics, allowing hospital staff to focus on more pressing concerns.

4. Health Screenings

Just as AI applications can diagnose patients, they can also make predictions about a person’s fitness for a given situation. Predictive analytics is an AI function that analyzes historical data to make predictions about future outcomes. AI systems can use predictive analytics to perform more nuanced health screenings.

AI can tell doctors is a patient would be fit for surgery or not. Similarly, it can advise people if they aren’t a suitable candidate for physically exerting activities or tests. These analytics consider a wide range of data, including things a human might overlook, leading to more accurate predictions.

5. Remote Monitoring

AI can also optimize health care outside of the hospital. Wearable technology is already prevalent with products like Fitbit, and the medical industry can use this to its advantage. With wearable health-monitoring devices, doctors can monitor their patients remotely.

Remote monitoring devices can alert patients if they need to see a doctor. Should an emergency occur, they can also alert hospital staff so they can send an ambulance. These noninvasive technologies will allow patients with conditions such as heart disease to live without fear by providing them with almost instant assistance.

6. Robot Nurses

Intelligent robots can help fix the nursing labor shortage by filling in those vital roles. Nursing robots are already working in Japanese hospitals and may soon see use in the U.S. These machines can help patients move, reduce their stress and remind them to take their medicine.

With AI, these robot nurses can adapt to each patient’s needs and desires. By analyzing how different people respond to various stimuli and situations, they can customize care. Intelligent nurse robots treat patients in a manner ideal for their health and comfort needs.

7. AI-Enabled Genomics

Compared to humans, AI is better suited for data-heavy tasks. Since DNA sequencing is a form of data analysis, it’s an ideal area to employ AI.

Using artificial intelligence in genomics has already shown impressive results. In 2019, an AI system identified new genetic mutations that contributed to autism. The system could detect patterns in DNA humans would not be able to, as well as predict how changing each gene would affect a person.

AI Is Revolutionizing Medicine

Artificial intelligence is changing the way the health care industry operates. With continued research and improvement, AI systems could save countless lives.