Science Fiction No More: How Artificial Intelligence Has Changed Healthcare

Two Sides of the Same Coin: Healthcare and Technology’s Shared Evolution

The healthcare industry has long felt like it’s stuck in the past. For a typical doctor visit, I would get in a raggedy elevator with the old buttons, fill out a ton of paperwork in a waiting room with old magazines, before seeing a doctor who takes notes with a pen and paper. I know the industry has started to embrace certain technological advancements, like online patient portals, quicker development of medicines like during the COVID-19 pandemic and digital health apps like WHOOP or the Oura ring. But after attending the health tech innovation track at SXSW, I quickly learned how closely connected tech industry innovation is to the healthcare industry and how health leaders are embracing ways to better care for patients.

One of the most compelling panels I attended, “Science Fiction or Real Science? AI + Health Hype vs Reality,” focused on how artificial intelligence has begun to make an impact in healthcare. Here are my biggest takeaways from the panel:

There are Immediate AI Use Cases to Increase Efficiencies

One of the panelists, Kingson Man, a principal data scientist for Precision Medicine at City of Hope, emphasized that AI has a home in the healthcare industry. Whether it’s to speed up operational efficiencies or to gather and share information quickly, there are immediate avenues where AI is already making an impact. What once seemed like science fiction just a few years ago is now a reality.

Direct-to-Patient AI is Still in its Early Stages

While AI is being used for a variety of tasks in healthcare, doctors in particular are still wary about relying on AI for direct diagnoses. There is a belief that AI can assist doctors, but cannot replace a doctor’s ability to understand a patient. That said, AI does have the capability to analyze prior data at lightning speed, allowing doctors to draw conclusions from historical data in real time, in combination with their experience and personal knowledge. By increasing accuracy with diagnoses, patients can get the right treatments they need quicker, ultimately resulting in less doctor visits, which will open up hospital beds, and also reduce nurse and doctor burnout from being over-indexed.  

While direct diagnoses is still in early stages, one thing doctors are excited about is AI’s ability to help write and summarize a doctor’s note. Understanding our health has always been confusing, with blind spots when trying to see the whole picture, but something as simple as a plain-english summary of our diagnoses significantly improves a patient’s understanding of their conditions and helps streamline communication between doctors and patients.

AI will undoubtedly prove to be an invaluable tool for healthcare professionals, continuously evolving to strengthen doctor-patient relationships for years to come.

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In closing, SXSW was an incredible experience, and this is just a glimpse into the fascinating innovations and insights I gained while attending. After learning about all the ways AI is making an impact on healthcare already, and the great potential for it in the future, as Man said,  “The hype is worth it!”