Artificial intelligence is impacting all sorts of industries and businesses, and the healthcare industry is just one of them. In fact, it’s already been working “behind the scenes” to help physicians give their patients the best possible care, according to a recent article by Staffing Industry Analysts. “For example, AI can help interpret MRI scans and detect possible cancer in imaging tests. Additionally, this month Amazon Web Services unveiled Transcribe Medical, its HIPAA-compliant speech recognition application program interface that developers can integrate into applications to enable physicians to do clinical documentation efficiently,” according to a recent article by SIA.
Beyond that, artificial intelligence is also making its way more directly to people receiving care and is being used to “interface directly with patients to collect initial information about their symptoms and vitals, a process normally performed by clinicians during a patient encounter.” This is an important step for the healthcare industry as it can provide ways to free up more time for healthcare professionals, while giving patients access to care more quickly and efficiently.
However, it’s important to note that while there have been numerous advances in the way in which artificial intelligence is benefitting the healthcare industries, there’s still a lot that needs to be accomplished. “Although consumers are increasingly accustomed to using technology for travel and shopping, there continue to be limits to how much technology can be used in the patient care continuum,” according to SIA.
This is mainly because “AI has not yet mastered important care elements such as the ability to feel compassion or use common sense,” which are crucial elements to providing good care to patients.
And as the artificial intelligence industry is poised for continued growth in the healthcare space, hiring and employment overall is expected to drastically increase, according to recent government data. In fact, Staffing Industry Analysts reported that the next 10 years see will explosive growth. “Over the next decade ending 2028, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics projects physician employment will grow 7% to 812,200, while registered nurse employment will grow 12% to 3.4 million,” according to the article. It continues, “With the low unemployment rates of 0.4% for physicians and 1.1% for registered nurses during the third quarter of 2019, the healthcare industry will likely continue to adopt telemedicine, AI and digital health technology to ensure adequate clinician resources exist to cover the volume and complexity of patient care needs across communities.” In sum, artificial intelligence is a welcome addition to the healthcare industry for a variety of reasons. With the ability to help detect illnesses earlier and make the process of getting care easier for patients, there are numerous benefits to AI in the field.