From the May 2017 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
Artificial intelligence-driven chatbots and virtual assistants are widening the reach of video telemedicine options. In this case, diagnosis can be enabled by machine learning and then trained by artificial intelligence. There are several companies launching these AI capabilities in their telemedicine platforms to triage the symptoms before connecting the user with a physician over phone or video.
Care delivery
Artificial intelligence can not only improve care delivery, but also assist in clinician decision-making and operational efficiency, amplifying the impact of each individual practitioner. AI helps streamline hospital operations in emergency rooms, operating rooms and inpatient wards. It also analyzes disparate data sources to accurately triage and apply interventions to the highest-risk patients. AI not only helps physicians, but also patients. Recent studies have determined that 50 percent of patients have difficulty with medication adherence. AI-enabled computer vision techniques to enable smart-phones to recognize faces and medications helped lower the cost and improve the effectiveness of tracking and adherence programs.
Artificial intelligence-powered patient coaching will allow a provider or care manager to manage more than 1,000 patients simultaneously rather than 50 to 100, offering an increase in labor leverage. Drug discovery companies can now utilize AI systems to de-risk the drug development process, enabling powerful and proprietary new combination therapies, as well as individualized treatment with unprecedented efficacy and safety. It significantly lowers the spend for each drug brought to market.
AI will continue to revolutionize medicine and care delivery for years to come. Physicians are trying to incorporate these technologies into their regular practice. When AI is fully integrated into medicine, we will see the full potential for the technology in terms of lending itself to more efficient and accurate diagnostics, from routine checkups to more specialized areas.
About the author: Bipin Thomas is a renowned business-technology innovator and thought leader on consumer-centric health care transformation. Thomas is a board member of HealthCare Business News magazine and strategic advisor to Health- Tap. Thomas is a senior executive at Flex, where he is leading business innovation by enabling intelligent products and connecting all stakeholders across industries. Thomas is a former senior executive at Accenture and UST Global, where he implemented strategic digital initiatives across the care continuum.Back to HCB News
