The current state of the healthcare industry is far from optimal. In a recent study of 11 high-income countries, the U.S. healthcare system came in dead last. This is despite the fact our GDP is the largest in the world, and we spend more than 16% on healthcare—almost $3.6 trillion and 5% more per capita than any other nation on the list.
Many healthcare professionals enter the industry with noble, altruistic intentions. They want to help humanity. But the current system burns them out and even causes many to leave the field altogether. This dynamic especially came to bear during the COVID-19 pandemic, as hospitals and healthcare workers were stretched to—if not beyond—their limits in an attempt to mitigate the public health crisis.
In addition, many hospitals have made cuts and closures, and facilities are facing staff and supply shortages. Doctors, nurses, and healthcare providers have been given an impossible task. Each of them simply has too much work for them to reasonably and sustainably complete.
This is where new technologies, including AI and machine learning, will be revolutionary and enable us to ensure that each person has access to incredible healthcare. In fact, there are already several tech developments that will have a tangible impact on the healthcare industry, transforming the experience for both doctors and patients for the better. Here’s how:
DIAGNOSE AND TREAT PATIENTS MORE ACCURATELY
Machine learning can be leveraged to provide intelligent insight, help speed up the diagnosis and treatment process, and eliminate gaps in communication. For instance, it can listen into a consultation in real time and transcribe or save key information, so that it can then be automatically transferred between providers at a single facility. For patients, this means they won’t have to (re)explain their symptoms to a receptionist, a nurse, and a doctor.
Last year, 7.4 million people were misdiagnosed in emergency rooms. Of these patients, an estimated 2.6 million suffered an “adverse event” as a result, while 370,000 suffered “serious harm.” These statistics don’t even fully account for all the delayed diagnoses or long and unconstructive visits it takes to reach the right one. AI machine learning algorithms could synthesize patient data and compare their symptoms across a larger body of information than even the most seasoned professionals could know, making sure healthcare professionals get it right the first time.
AI and machine learning technology can also reduce wait times for vital procedures like organ transplants, and minimize the extensive waste caused by inefficient transportation—a phenomenon that has been well-documented for years. Last year, 20% of donated organs were not transplanted, even though 17 people die each day while waiting for a transplant and more than 100,000 patients are still waiting. Much of this waste is caused by inefficient communication between healthcare facilities, organ banks, and transportation agencies. This is an obvious opportunity for AI to streamline an inefficient system to save countless lives.
MAKE IMPORTANT DATA IMMEDIATELY ACCESSIBLE
Currently, hospital systems are siloed in several ways. For instance, your medical records from a previous exam at a primary care provider could be stored in one silo, while your vaccine and medication history is in another, and your allergies are in a third. This process becomes especially difficult for people who have switched health insurance providers, or moved and had several different primary care providers over the years.
With cutting-edge technology, doctors can utilize machine learning in real time. They will automatically be prompted with alerts, pop-ups, and specific medications and amounts based on patient weight, age, and other individual factors.
In addition, predictive analytics can provide real-time updates to nurses about open hospital beds and exam rooms to optimize processes and decrease wait times at large facilities. Patients can sign in and even be directed to exam rooms electronically, so they can be treated faster.
Machine learning can pull all this data together and put it right in front of the healthcare professional, democratizing treatment by ensuring that whomever you are seeing is getting the same information as the world’s top doctors.
LEVERAGE INTELLIGENT AUTOMATION IN PROCESSES
Worker shortages have put immense pressure on a system that is rife with paperwork and organizational and bureaucratic coordination. There are prescriptions to fill, patients to check in and out, referrals to make—the list goes on. Compounded with a lack of employees, simply keeping up can be draining. Again, this is where technology can come to the rescue.
Many of the basic administrative processes that keep things flowing smoothly in the doctor’s office can be done automatically by AI. By taking these off of healthcare workers’ plates, AI can help fill the gaps caused by today’s worker shortage and free up time for healthcare professionals to focus on doing what they need to do better and more quickly.
This will also improve the patient experience. For instance, after being prescribed a medicine, patients often have to wait for it to be filled by a pharmacist at another location, and then pick it up. This makes a simple process take hours, if not days. Instead, AI could streamline the process so that the medicine would be in patients’ hands just minutes after it is prescribed.
Technology can automate these processes and transfer data between institutions immediately, so we can spend less time getting treated and more time getting well. Until now, this technology has been too expensive to deploy in hospitals. However, new technology providers are making this technology affordable and accessible to every medical system. Soon every doctor visit you go to will be your best one yet.
When it comes to people’s health, anything less isn’t good enough. Using AI, hyper-automation, and machine learning, we can streamline and improve every step of the healthcare journey—from diagnosis to recovery—so that care providers don’t have to choose between efficiency and efficacy, and patients receive the best care possible every time.
John Winner is the founder and CEO of Kizen, a software company that provides game-changing AI machine learning and hyper automation.