From improving efficiency to helping organizations enhance essential face-to-face human interactions, artificial intelligence holds great promise for healthcare. But there needs to be strong regulation and clear definitions of the technology’s uses and capabilities.
WHY IT MATTERS
That was one of the conclusions drawn from a roundtable discussion featuring two dozen leading experts in health care AI, hosted this summer by Epic and UW Health, the University of Wisconsin’s integrated health care system.
The potential of AI technology to improve access to healthcare, accelerate healthcare delivery, and address disparities in underserved communities are areas of focus.
Participants, including representatives from the federal government, health care providers, insurers and academics, as well as technology leaders, praised AI’s potential to reduce administrative burdens.
However, successful implementation and adoption will require close collaboration between healthcare organizations to train staff and integrate AI into their workflows, prioritizing patient-centric solutions.
Specific use cases discussed include real-time patient monitoring and automated data entry, highlighting AI’s ability to ease the strain on the healthcare workforce.
One of the key concerns is the need for transparency as AI is integrated into patient care and the importance healthcare organizations must place on building trust in AI technology.
This can be achieved by informing patients when AI is used and ensuring transparency about the use of data by external providers.
Participants agreed that AI should support, not replace, healthcare workers, and stressed the importance of involving staff in testing new AI tools.
The discussion also highlighted the importance of equitable adoption of AI across rural and underserved areas if AI is to be truly transformative. Infrastructure development and technical support were seen as crucial to ensuring all patients benefit from AI.
Applications of AI are also discussed to support real-time patient condition monitoring, generate alerts of patient deterioration, and provide unified notifications of patient status, thus facilitating timely care interventions.
Predictive analytics, such as predicting risks like falls in the elderly, can lead to preventive measures and timely referrals for specialist care.
When it comes to improving efficiency, participants concluded that deeper integration of AI into clinical workflows promises to improve efficiency, reduce manual workload, and provide data-driven insights for better treatment planning and patient outcomes.
Concerns about data fairness and transparency were also discussed, focusing on including diverse patient populations in AI models.
Effectively regulating AI in healthcare requires appropriate authority and a deep understanding of the impact of AI on patient care, with a regulatory framework that encourages innovation, ensures equitable access, and addresses disparities in the quality of care.
“Participants emphasized the importance of balancing the benefits of AI with ethical considerations, patient engagement, and a robust regulatory framework,” the report notes.
THE BIGGER TREND
As AI expands in healthcare, there is an ongoing discussion about balancing the potential to improve health outcomes with labor, ethical, and equity concerns, requiring careful regulation to prevent harm and build trust.
From AI-powered computer vision tools and generative AI (genAI) workflow tools for nurses, to burnout reduction tools and patient triage algorithms, the applications of AI in healthcare are broad and growing at a rapid pace.
The use of AI can also be extended to virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) applications which are also gaining attention in the healthcare sector.
ON PROFILE
“For AI efforts to be successful, it is critical that policymakers and healthcare providers work together to ensure appropriate patient and workforce considerations,” Epic and UW Health leaders said in the report, noting that this roundtable exploration was “unique in that unlike many other discussions that focus on the technological aspects of AI, we looked at AI through the lens of healthcare delivery and the policy mechanisms needed to promote equity and access.”
“By bringing together healthcare providers, payers, policy experts, and other key stakeholders, the roundtable identified best practices for integrating AI into the care process, reviewed current and pending policies, and provided consensus recommendations to establish necessary safeguards for AI implementation in healthcare,” they added.
Nathan Eddy is a healthcare and technology freelancer based in Berlin.
Email the author: [email protected]
Twitter: @dropdeaded209
The HIMSS Healthcare AI Forum is scheduled for September 5-6 in Boston. Learn more and register.
