Policy Briefs
October 18, 2024
AI Use in the Health Care Space
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has revolutionized technology, including technology within health care. Some of the ways AI is being used in the health care industry include patient care, diagnostics and treatment, drug research, imaging, administrative tasks, and surgery.
- Patient Care: Patient care has improved significantly through the use of AI in terms of quality, efficiency, and personalization of health care services. AI assistants can track and analyze patients’ data to diagnose and determine treatment, while personalizing appointments and treatment plans. AI has advanced surgical procedures by assisting surgeons with monitoring patients, providing surgical tools, or even participating in the surgery itself.
- Medical Research and Drug Development: In addition to patient care, AI has accelerated drug research processes, while reducing the time and cost of research and development. This technology can assist researchers in determining how drugs will react and whether they are effective.
- Imaging and Radiology: AI has also improved imaging technology by rapidly examining results, flagging potential abnormalities among many images, and detecting patient areas of concern in a faster and more accurate way.
- Administrative Burden Reduction: AI is assisting health care professionals with administrative tasks such as scheduling appointments, billing, and managing health records.
AHPA health systems are using AI to improve both the patient and clinician experience. AdventHealth, a member of AHPA, is a founding member of both the Coalition for Health AI (CHAI), a group shaping the responsible use of AI in health care; and Trustworthy, Responsible AI Network (TRAIN), a consortium of health care leaders striving to make safe and effective AI more accessible to every health care organization. Among several other uses, AdventHealth has leveraged AI to improve hiring and talent retention and identify breast cancer earlier. Kettering Health, headquartered in Ohio, is also using AI technology to help find breast cancer earlier and opened an innovation center focused on AI and digital health. Adventist Health uses AI to make health care more accessible and to more effectively identify the likelihood of brain injuries, among other uses. A leader on health care education, researchers at Loma Linda University Health were awarded $4 million by the National Cancer Institute to investigate artificial intelligence and oral cancer.
AHPA extends our gratitude to McKenzie Kauffman, guest author of this article.
McKenzie is a graduate student in the Master of Communication & Business Leadership program at High Point University