Artificial intelligence is getting more adept at performing tasks that humans would do normally. It is becoming more sophisticated and is able to carry out these tasks quicker, more efficiently, and at a cheaper cost. This is why many people think that AI is created to displace them from their jobs but it is a one-sided view and the bigger picture is a lot better especially in the healthcare industry.

There is a massive potential for AI technology to improve the quality of delivery in the healthcare industry in many ways. Gladly, AI technologies are becoming a more important part of our daily lives as it is getting wide acceptance. Here are some of the ways that AI technologies can help to improve the healthcare industry.

Early detection

It is common knowledge that the quicker a sickness or disease is detected, the faster treatment can begin, and the higher the chances of recovery. A good example of this is cancer. AI can ensure that cancers are detected more accurately in its early stages, therefore, giving the patients a higher chance of dealing with the disease. For instance, there are many people that get diagnosed with cancer but do not actually have the disease because of the inaccuracy in the diagnosis. AI can ensure that the mammograms are better reviewed and translated with 99% accuracy and 30x faster. This, therefore, reduces the need to undergo unnecessary biopsies.

AI can also be combined with other medical devices to oversee heart disease at an early stage, and this enables the doctors and healthcare workers to detect and monitor potentially life-threatening situations, at the early stages where it is more treatable.

Staying healthy

Among the biggest potential benefits of AI is the ability to help people live a healthy life. This ensures that people do not have to visit the doctor as often as they do normally. A combination of the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) and Artificial Intelligence is already ensuring that people can live a healthier lifestyle. Individuals are encouraged to live healthier with technology applications so that they are more proactive with their health. These consumers, therefore, are in control of their well-being, including mental health.

Furthermore, AI helps healthcare professionals to have a better understanding of the needs and patterns of their patients so they are more informed and can give them better support, feedback, and guidance to help them stay healthy.

Decision making

A very important part of the healthcare industry is the correct decision making. For the healthcare industry to really improve there has to be an alignment between big health data and timely decision making. Clinical decision making can be improved with predictive analytics to prioritize administrative tasks.

Pattern recognition can be used in identifying patients that have the possibility of developing a medical condition or those with medical conditions that can deteriorate due to genomic, environmental, lifestyle, and other factors. AI is fast becoming influential in this sphere of healthcare.

Treatment

Artificial Intelligence can play a big role in helping healthcare professionals be careful enough in taking the approach that is right for managing the disease, coordinate healthcare plans better, and also help the patients to be more compliant and manage their treatment programs even though they are long term. This is in addition to the ability to scan health records so that providers are able to identify individuals that are chronically ill or are at risk of suffering adverse episodes.

Robots are not even new to medicine as they have been in use for over 30 years. Their use range from simple robots that are used in the laboratory to surgical robots that are more complex and can either carry out surgical operations by themselves or help a human surgeon during the operations. Apart from surgical operations, they can also be used in laboratories and hospitals in rehabilitation, for repetitive tasks, physical therapy, and to support people that are dealing with long-term conditions.

Research

It can be a very long and costly path when researching drugs and medications, from the processes in the research lab to trials and finally applications on patients. A statement by California Biomedical Research Association claims that the process of a drug traveling from the research laboratory to the point where it is used by a patient takes 12 years averagely. according to this organization, just 5 out of 5000 drugs that start preclinical testing get to the stage where they undergo human testing and only 1 of those 5 gets approved for use in humans.

Also, on the average, pharmaceutical companies can spend as much as $359 million in the research and development of new drugs all the way to patient from the laboratory.

As a matter of fact, the most recent application of artificial intelligence in the healthcare industry is in the research and discovery of drugs. The potential for AI in medical research is quite enormous. It is certain that with AI being introduced more often into the research of drugs, both time and expense spent in the production of drugs will be cut short dramatically.

End of life care

Older generations lived shorter than more recent generations, but the problem is that we are dying more slowly than previous generations did. There are a lot more medical conditions to deal with, heart failure, dementia, osteoporosis, coupled with loneliness in the old age.

The potential for robots to help in taking care of people at the end of their lives is huge. For one, it can help them to be independent for a longer time and reduce their need for care home or hospitalization. More advances are enabling robots to carry out social interactions.

Conclusion

The advent of technology in the healthcare industry is a welcome development and it will go a long way to improve this industry. This article outlines some of the ways in which Artificial Intelligence can help the healthcare industry.

Author’s Bio

Isabell Gaylord is a professional journalist and manager who loves to travel and works at AssignmentGeek, an essay service that provides dissertation help.