Many speak of artificial intelligence as a futuristic idea that will vastly change our society and how we process information. However, AI technology has been in our daily lives in the most recent years and it is beginning to become a healthcare necessity.
AI within the healthcare field is defined somewhat differently, as it is not a machine doing the work, but rather, a human using the machines information, depictions, and retrievals to assess their patient more effectively. For example, if a patient comes in and has been pre-diagnosed with a stroke, any doctor can input the patients complaints, the effects the stroke is having on the body and many more variables. As a result the AI with return possible conditions, treatments for all those conditions, and even the possible issues to come from certain treatments given the patients condition.
Most importantly the AI system in the healthcare field learns and adapts just as any other Artificial intelligence would. As new data points, new statistics and more and more conditions are inputted into the system, it generates new possibilities and new treatments. This allows us to more effectively asses risks and rewards while more successful diagnosing patients, with very little human input.
An example of how beneficial AI can be, comes from WebMD, where doctors and analysts came together to verify the benefits and uses of AI in the healthcare system. This example stated that if a patient had ovarian cancer AND were on a beta-blocker (a blood pressure drug) they lived, on average, four years longer than those with ovarian cancer and were not on beta-blockers.
More and more correlations will continue to reveal themselves as we gather more data on patients health, symptoms, treatments and effects which will result in an even more effective healthcare system for both patients and doctors.
source:
Kennedy, Lauren Paige. “How Artificial Intelligence Helps in Health Care.” WebMD, WebMD, 29 Nov. 2018, www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/features/artificial-intelligence-helps-health-care#1.