AI (Artificial Intelligence) has transformed many sectors including healthcare. As a rule, this sector always prefers to leverage the latest technology and was one of the early adopters of AI technology. The global AI medical market was valued at $20.9 billion this year. It is predicted to touch $148.4 billion by 2029 growing at a CAGR( Compounded Annual Growth Rate) of a significant 48.1%.

We look at some of the important applications of AI in the healthcare domain.

• Robotic Surgery

Hospitals utilize AI and robots to aid different types of surgeries. The surgeries aided by robots result in less surgery related complications, less time for patients to recover as well as patients experiencing less pain. In case of need, AI helps surgeons to operate on patients within confined spaces. AI powered robots can maneuver over fragile organs as well as tissues. This results in reduced blood loss, brings down the risk of infections as well as lower postoperative discomfort. Another important benefit is minimal scarring, a concern shared by many patients.

• Managing Healthcare Data

AI has the capacity to process vast amounts of data. The former processes medical  information in healthcare organizations in minutes as compared to earlier methods that took a number of years. Hence healthcare administration takes less time and money. The efficiency of daily operations is boosted. Healthcare processes and tasks take less time and with less errors. Medical data is no longer restricted to silos and well connected and organized thanks to cutting-edge AI technology. 

• Superior Patient Experience

AI provides timely appointment reminders and customized health advice to patients. Usage of AI results in quicker as well as higher degree of personalization of treatment of patients. Hospitals as well as doctors are able to treat relatively more number of patients thanks to AI. The medical history of the patient, current medical literature, the lifestyle of the patient, genetic profile of the concerned patient and the demographic data of the patient will be processed and analyzed by AI applications to give a highly personalized treatment plan for each patient.

• Drug Discovery

Drug development usually takes many years in terms of time as well as costs billions of dollars in terms of money. At the end only a small percentage of drug candidates receive approval. Compared to humans, AI can better predict which drugs will succeed and which will have tolerable side effects. AI helps identify suitable candidates to participate in new drug trials. The technology can analyze vast datasets to pinpoint novel drug targets as well as predict the effectiveness of drugs and associated side effects. This aid scientists to craft highly effective clinical trials as well as introduce new drugs to market faster than before.

• Superior Medical Diagnosis

AI technology is better than medical professionals in predicting as well as diagnosing disease in patients. The former is faster as well as more accurate in detecting illnesses. As such medical intervention can be done earlier resulting in superior outcomes for affected patients. By employing machine learning algorithms, patterns can be identified in patient data that may be missed by human operators. This results in early detection of illnesses as well as superior health outcomes.

• Training Medical Professionals

Virtual simulators created using AI provide training platforms where medical students as well as practitioners can practice surgical tasks and clinical activities. So, individuals aspiring to hone their medical skills get a safe platform as well as get feedback to improve their knowledge and expertise. AI helps healthcare personnel keep in touch with the latest medical developments as well as boost their skills and confidence.

• Enhances Public Health

AI is able to detect disease outbreaks earlier compared to humans. ML (Machine Learning) models process epidemiological information, social media as well as medical records to detect the beginning of health disasters. Predictive analytics can suggest preventive steps including vaccination drives and dissemination of relevant information to warn the public. So, epidemics cause less damage and are better controlled thanks to AI technology. This contributes significantly to maintaining and enhancing the state of public health.

• Enables Remote Patient Care

There may be locations where patients cannot access physical healthcare facilities. AI helps provide teleconsultations with qualified medical staff to patients residing in remote areas or areas that lack adequate medical facilities. Note that AI makes remote patient monitoring possible. It becomes possible to monitor the vital signs of patients, whether they are taking the prescribed medication as well as the current health condition of the patient. This is particularly beneficial for patients suffering from chronic disorders including diabetes, asthma, and others.

• Superior Compliance with Existing Regulations

The privacy of patient data needs to be protected. Healthcare organizations must comply with existing regulations governing healthcare data such as HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) and others.  If there are data breaches patients lose trust in healthcare organizations. So, the latter experiences patient desertion as well as financial losses and reputational damage. AI is more capable and efficient than human operators in ensuring healthcare organizations adhere to complex and ever evolving relevant regulations. This is done faster, better and with greater accuracy as well as lesser errors compared to human individuals or teams. 

• Superior Management of Healthcare Records

EHR (Electronic Health Records) using AI technology have made the record keeping process simple as well as convenient. Medical professionals and administrative staff get access to patient related data faster and more securely than before. By utilizing AI powered EHRs there is less load on administrative staff, less errors and superior quality of patient care. Thanks to AI EHRs, medical staff are able to make informed decisions related to patient treatment. Also, historical patient information can be utilized by ML (Machine Learning) algorithms to diagnose illnesses.  By leveraging AI, the process of recording patient data is easier and more efficient. This ramps up the productivity of healthcare related organizations as well as medical professionals.

• Superior Prediction of Disease Outbreaks

For your information, predictive analytics is a field of AI that makes predictions based on historical data. Predictive Analytics is very useful in accurately predicting major and minor disease outbreaks well before they actually become big or unmanageable. This allows for targeted intervention limiting the spread as well as impact of the disease outbreak. Big data is used along with AI for superior performance in detecting potential epidemics. Public health department can also allocate resources to tackle potential epidemics in an efficient and prioritized manner. As a result, a considerable amount of time, money and effort are saved and public health safety is ensured.

• Improved Processing of Insurance Claims

It is a well-known fact that there are many incidents of fraudulent claims. These include unnecessary tests and treatments, inflated bills, and others. AI analyses vast amounts of data in very less time to detect frauds. As such genuine applicants experience faster claim processing. Insurers are also happy by lower fraudulent claim payments. By leveraging AI, the medical insurance claim process becomes smooth and offers peace of mind to the insured parties. Insurers save money and genuine claims are fully reimbursed.

• Optimization of Healthcare Supply Chains

If the supply chain of a healthcare entity is not proper there will be incidents of shortages of medical supplies that can endanger the health or life of patients. On the other hand overstock scenarios can result in wastage as well as monetary loss for the healthcare organization. By leveraging AI, healthcare entities can effectively avoid such situations. AI is able to predict demand for supplies accurately and quickly.

• Superior Analysis of Medical Images

AI is better and faster than humans to identify anomalies in X-rays, MRI (Magnetic Resource Imaging)s and CT (Computed Tomography) scans. The former utilizes deep learning algorithms to pinpoint subtle abnormalities missed by human operators. This results in earlier detection of medical issues as well earlier treatment leading to improved outcomes for respective patients.

• Free Medical Staff from Administrative Tasks

AI applications do the full billing process, scheduling of appointments as well as answer basic and advanced patient queries. RPA (Robotic Process Automation) is increasingly being utilized to handle insurance claims of patients as well as management of medical records. AI is faster and more efficient in handling and completing administration related tasks. As such doctors and nurses can focus on healthcare and devote the saved time to more critical functions. 

Future Potential

AI technology is improving by leaps and bounds as companies are investing heavily in improving the former. More and more healthcare organizations will begin to realize the benefits of adopting AI technology. The future will see better AI technology and increased adoption of the same by healthcare entities. The result is better outcomes for patients, reduced administrative burden, increased use of robots in surgery and improved accessibility to high quality health services. Both healthcare providers and patients will benefit on a significant scale.

If your healthcare organization is not utilizing AI, now is the time to adopt AI technology into your organization's systems, processes as well as operations. Healthcare entities just cannot afford to ignore AI. By adopting AI, healthcare institutions will experience ramped up productivity, revenue, profits as well as enhanced brand image and reputation. Your organization will be harnessing state-of-the-art technology and obtain a competitive edge in the market.

Possessing extensive expertise and experience in the healthcare domain as well as AI technology, CoffeeBeans is strategically positioned to integrate AI technology with healthcare organizations. We have a pool of talented professionals who have domain knowledge of healthcare as well as have mastery over AI technology. CoffeeBeans offers stellar quality at competitive rates. Our clients will vouch for our transparency, real-time response as well as adherence to stipulated deadlines. Reach out to us at [email protected]  to know how we can help your organization achieve your specific and unique goals and objectives.