10 Benefits of Using Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare
- Softude
- October 15, 2024
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has come straight from sci-fi novels to reality. It's here, helping the healthcare industry in ways that were only dreams a few years ago. From producing new and far more effective drugs to treating diseases that could affect patients in the future, AI is changing the way healthcare providers operate. This powerful technology promises speed, innovation, and personalization, which are otherwise difficult with traditional technologies. These top 10 benefits of AI in healthcare are already proving its transformative power.
AI Benefits in Healthcare: From Hospitals to Research and Development
1. Smarter, Faster Diagnostics
Despite advances in the medical field, diagnosis is still the hardest part. Why?
- Many diseases share vague symptoms, making it hard to know the exact cause.
- Some diseases delay diagnosis as they are rare.
- Some have no definitive ways to diagnose.
- Certain diseases take time to show fully visible symptoms, making early detection difficult.
- A few diseases show misleading symptoms.
All these reasons challenge traditional diagnosis, leading to either incorrect or delayed results. This negatively impacts the patient's health, increasing healthcare spending and causing reputational damage to hospitals.
Imagine being able to detect diseases before they even show symptoms. AI-powered healthcare solutions for diagnosis promise this. They outperform traditional methods of scanning diseases and show signs or abnormalities that might be missed or difficult to notice otherwise.
For Hospitals, AI-powered diagnosis means:
- Less faulty diagnosis
- Faster interpretation of medical scans
- Enough time to focus on complex cases
- Better workflow efficiency
- Few repeat tests
For Patients, it means:
- Earlier treatment
- Better results
- High chances of survival
2. Prescribing Medications That Suit Each Patient
No two patients are the same. Despite knowing the differences, doctors are chained to suggesting one-size-fits-all treatments. The result is that the treatment works for some patients rather than for others.
In some cases, it even causes side effects. Instead of being trapped in trial-and-error methods, doctors can use AI to prescribe medicines and treatments uniquely suitable to each patient. They can personalize the treatments by focusing on their genetics, lifestyle, and environment.
Advantages of using AI in healthcare for personalized treatment for hospitals:
- Efficient treatments
- Low readmission
For patients, it means:
- Less expense on medication
- Faster recovery
- Increased trust in the doctors
3. Anticipating the Future
What if doctors could tell which disease a patient will suffer from and when? AI will make doctors the fortune tellers with its predictive analytics. It can crunch data of any number and forecast possibilities such as how early the patient can suffer from heart disease or will be readmitted, what type of complications can arise in patients, etc.
Wouldn't it be great to know about these possibilities early? But how will predictive analytics in healthcare benefit patients and hospitals?
For Hospitals:
- Early planning to optimize hospital resources like medical supplies, beds, and staff.
- Implement public health measures to prevent outbreaks promptly.
- Fill the hospital inventory to take care of every patient.
- Reduce medical waste and unnecessary expenses.
For Patients:
- Increased life expectancy
- Lower medical expenses
4. Doing Minimally Invasive Surgeries with Precision
Surgical precision just hit a new high with artificial intelligence. Robots in the operating room are making possible what the world thought impossible. For example, removing the gallbladder in Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy surgery is very risky. Accidental cuts to the blood vessels, bile leakage, and damage to other organs, so many risks are there.
Operating such minimally invasive surgeries with the naked eye increases the risk further. AI-powered robots extend surgeons' capabilities, helping them see even complex structures precisely. The Da Vinci surgery system is a real example of such technological advancement.
Pros of Using AI in Healthcare for Assisting Robotic Surgeries:
- Ability to perform complex procedures with minimum errors and high success rates.
- Less risky, minimally invasive surgeries.
- Better visualization of delicate structures.
- Reduced physical strain on surgeons during long surgeries.
- Easy to operate remote surgeries with precision.
- Easy to train new surgeons in complex procedures with AI insights.
5. Freeing Up with Administrative Load
Let's face it: paperwork drains time and resources in healthcare, even though it is simple and automated to some extent.
AI is handling the grunt work with full-scale automation and less supervision. For example,
NLP tools for transcribing medical notes save time when creating reports by hand. What else?
AI is greatly reducing the healthcare administration burden from billing to appointment scheduling. But what advantages are they bringing to this department? Let's see.
- According to a report from Accenture, AI could save over $150 billion annually by automating routine tasks. Imagine what you could do with all that extra time and budget!
- Fewer errors in medical bills.
- Faster processing of insurance claims.
- Reduced costs with fewer administrative staff.
For patients, AIaaS solutions for hospital management bring less waiting and hassle-free claim processing.
6. Making New Drugs Faster Than Before
There are thousands of diseases with no cure or treatment. Alzheimer's is one of them. Scientists are working hard to understand its cause and research its most effective drug.
However, discovering a new drug takes dozens of months and thousands of dollars. Even after spending so much time, money, and effort, there is no guarantee that drugs will work. It is mostly like a hit-and-trial method.
This does not stop the time for Alzheimer's patients who are already waiting to get the treatment or those who will suffer in the future. AI can cut this wait time and cost by learning chemical and biological data and years of research to find what would work.
It even reduced the time needed to find the ideal group of patients to test the drug. The result? Life-saving medications can hit the market faster, saving patients' lives and the cost of producing new drugs.
7. Consulting Patients Virtually
One of the best advantages of using AI in healthcare is remote assistance. AI brings quality care straight to patients' pockets with virtual health assistants. Also known as AI healthcare chatbots, they can understand patients' language and symptoms and give them necessary advice prescribed by real doctors.
Benefits of Using AI Bots in Healthcare for Patients:
- Access to healthcare services even after the actual working hours of the hospitals and clinics.
- Booking appointments any time.
- Filing insurance claims easily and error-free with chatbot guidance.
- Never miss a medicine with real-time notifications.
Pros for Hospitals:
- Less burden on clinicians and staff on bookings and consultations.
- Faster bookings and early notification of canceled or postponed appointments.
- Focus on patients with high emergencies.
8. Giving Error-Free Care to Patients
What if a physician accidentally prescribes medicine that reacts with other medicines a patient might be taking? Or does hospital staff add charges for medical services a patient did not take?
Such minute errors can prove dangerous for patients and healthcare providers. And these errors are not limited to prescription and medical billing. From diagnosis to surgeries, errors can happen anywhere in patient care, especially in high-stress environments.
AI provides an extra set of ears and eyes, reducing the possible chances of errors. This safety net saves patients from unexpected dangers and healthcare providers from violations and penalties.
9. Connecting with Patients Through AI-Powered Telemedicine
The COVID-19 pandemic made telemedicine mainstream, and AI is taking it to new levels. AI and telemedicine are improving care in a way we did not imagine before. This strong combination makes diagnosis more accurate and improves patients' overall experience.
Natural language processing, a part of AI, converts patient-reported symptoms into structured data. This streamlined process ensures that no detail is missed and that virtual consultations are successful. For rural and underserved populations, AI-powered telemedicine is a blessing in disguise.
10. Managing Public Health and Population
One of AI's benefits in the healthcare industry is managing the health of the mass population. Without artificial intelligence, analyzing the huge data from thousands of hospitals and sources is next to impossible.
AI helps in this massive analysis to identify trends and at-risk populations. This data allows public health officials to take proactive steps before disease outbreaks or crises occur.
It can track the spread of disease, predict future hot spots, and even assist in treating the mass population through vaccines.
Wrapping Up The Benefits of AI in the Medical Field
AI is more than a technology; it has the power to bring the needed care among patients while giving healthcare providers a lens to see into the future. The best part is that AI leaves no data untouched to bring these transformative changes and benefits.
But while AI holds tremendous promise, it's not here to replace healthcare professionals. Instead, the 10 benefits of artificial intelligence in healthcare will allow them to focus more on what matters most—their patients.
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