19 Major Impacts AI Is Having On The Healthcare Industry

Artificial intelligence has had a significant impact on the healthcare industry, specifically in the ways businesses and providers operate and deliver care. From streamlining administrative tasks to improving patient care with data-driven insights, there are numerous outcomes that have only become possible with the evolution of AI.

Below, the members of Forbes Business Council share their insights and observations about how this technological shift will continue to shape the future of healthcare. Here's how these experts believe AI will make the industry more efficient, personalized and accessible.

1. More Time For Providers To Focus On Patient Care
AI improves patient outcomes and the physician shortage. AMA’s three clinical care AI types (assistive, augmentative and autonomous) detect clinically relevant data for physician analysis, quantify it, provide feedback for clinical decisions and offer Dx conclusions and management options. AI performs focused, intensive image and waveform data interpretation, freeing providers for patient care. Anticipate rapid advancements. - Marc Samuels, ADVI Health, LLC

2. Identification Of Clinical And Non-Clinical Patterns In Marginalized Populations
A key impact is AI’s ability to analyze vast datasets to identify clinical and non-clinical patterns, particularly for older adults from historically marginalized populations. For AI to be equitably impactful, it must include inclusive data representation, adhere to robust governance and maintain continuously monitored standards with clear accountability. - Sarita Mohanty, The SCAN Foundation

3. More Efficient Data Collection
Healthcare records are information-rich, yet, too often, data insights go untapped because digitized records and disparate systems make it difficult to collect data efficiently. AI image recognition is already having an impact on diagnostics. Look for expanded insights from decades of healthcare records and medical images in the near future. - Dennis DuFour, TDEC

4. Increased Innovation Velocity
AI is transforming the entire value chain in healthcare. What began with mRNA therapies is now being embraced across the industry, from diagnosis to personalized treatment to FDA approval processes. The usage of synthetic data to increase innovation velocity is perhaps most notable, as it enables a myriad of faster, more efficient use cases all along the value chain. - Jackie Shoback, 1414 Ventures

5. Personalized Patient Care Through Predictive Analytics
One of the most important impacts for businesses in healthcare that AI will bring is personalization within patient care using predictive analytics. AI’s ability to process large amounts of data allows for predictions of the best possible outcomes and treatment regimens, even forewarning on probable health issues before they become critical. These also help decrease costs. - Kamya Elawadhi, Doceree

6. Enhanced Diagnostic Accuracy
AI is profoundly transforming healthcare businesses by enhancing diagnostic accuracy and streamlining patient care processes. Through my experiences in technology and digital transformation, I've observed AI's capability to analyze vast datasets quickly and with precision, which significantly aids in early disease detection and personalized treatment plans. - Sanjay Sehgal, MSys Technologies

7. Better Dental Practice Management And X-Ray Analysis
AI adoption in dentistry is skyrocketing compared to other medical sectors, with practices increasingly utilizing the technology to enhance practice management and analyze dental X-rays for increased diagnostic accuracy. In the future, we can expect AI to become a true standard of care, enabling dental professionals to drive practice growth by streamlining both clinical and operational workflows. - Cindy Roark, Sage Dental

8. Reduced Administrative Burdens
AI has great potential, but we're aware there is still more to do to make it sustainable within the clinical ecosystem. Immediately, we can see the opportunity to streamline operations and administrative burdens by automating manual tasks. This, in turn, increases the efficiency of our most treasured asset—people—giving clinicians more time to do what they do best, which is caring for patients. - Jeff Surges, RLDatix

9. More Patient Engagement, Even When Physicians Are Unavailable
As physicians, we’re starting to see how AI can improve clinical outcomes. In my practice, we treat obesity, but we can’t be with our patients all the time. Ongoing guidance and motivation are critical for long-term success after a weight loss procedure. We’re piloting the use of an AI-powered weight loss coach that has been shown to help more patients reach their goals through greater engagement. - Christopher McGowan, True You Weight Loss, PLLC

10. Faster Results And More Accessible Care
AI is revolutionizing healthcare by providing faster results. It can analyze vast amounts of data rapidly, identifying patterns and anomalies that might be missed by humans. This leads to earlier detection of diseases, personalized treatment plans and improved patient outcomes. AI could make healthcare more efficient and accessible by transforming patient care and operational workflows. - Chris Coldwell, Quicksilver Software Development Inc.

11. Reduced Versatile Working Time For Medical Staff
There is a shortage of doctors and co-medical staff internationally, and they are always busy. By introducing AI, the versatile working time of doctors and staff will be greatly reduced, which will lead to improved quality of medical operations. In addition, utilizing AI that analyzes the big data of many patients will also lead to the optimization of treatment and services for patients. - Karita Takahisa, UNIFY PLATFORM AG

12. More Precise Analysis Of Medical Images And Patient Data
AI is impacting healthcare through improved and efficient diagnostic accuracy. Machine learning algorithms can analyze medical images and patient data more precisely than humans, leading to earlier detection and personalized treatments. This trend will likely accelerate, which will transform healthcare delivery by enhancing clinical decision-making and enabling more proactive, preventive care approaches. - Aleesha Webb, Pioneer Bank

13. Greater Understanding Of Marketplace Trends
AI is a tool, and like many tools, it can facilitate efficiency (e.g, scheduling), data analysis (e.g., results over time) and our understanding of trends in the marketplace (e.g., access to healthcare in certain areas). That said, I don’t see AI taking over the relational aspects of healthcare, as patients look to their doctors for things AI cannot provide, such as empathy, comfort and support. - Christine S. Ghilain, Brain Health Neuropsychology & Brain Health Consulting

14. Improved Patient Satisfaction
Analytics, diagnostics, scheduling and assistants, among others, are at the forefront of healthcare AI today, but less-socialized applications have the potential to assist with a long-standing struggle: patient satisfaction. AI and chatbots specifically can be used to establish real-time communication with patients still at the facility, enabling service recovery to engage patients when it counts. - Deisell Donahoe, DIOSS LLC

15. Greater Healthcare Access In Remote Communities
Health diagnosis seems like the immediate and big impactful area of need with AI in healthcare. I see its impact in remote areas where specialist doctors are not on call full time. This will revolutionize healthcare, especially in poor communities. - Onyekachi Ginger-Eke, Edutech Global

16. More Personalized Patient Journeys
One of the most important use cases for AI in healthcare is personalizing the patient journey. Patients are looking for answers and guidance, and when you are able to personalize the journey for them, the process is always more impactful than when they feel like a cog in the wheel. - Chad Ramos, Privado Health

17. Deeper Understanding Of Patients
What I get most excited about is how AI has transformed how we analyze treatment plans and deliver care. We gain a deeper understanding of patients through advanced analytics and 24/7 patient monitoring. Health aides have a complete patient profile, factoring in insights not only from their one-on-one interactions but also from the lived experiences of their patients in and out of the healthcare facility. - Josh Klein, Emerest

18. Reduced Care Wait Times
At our company, AI has revolutionized the speed at which we can provide access to speech therapy. By using machine learning technology, we have been able to cut the time to start of care down. We hope to introduce other similar companies to the model, but it is not well understood by those who have not kept up with technology. Once embraced fully, I believe long wait times will be a thing of the past. - Givona Sandiford, Melospeech Inc.

19. Improved Drug Discovery
AI's impact on healthcare will be pervasive, transforming everything from diagnostics to treatment plans and surgery. AI like AlphaFold 3 will revolutionize drug discovery. We already use large language models to create or summarize medical notes and facilitate interoperability by converting unstructured documents into structured data. The industry will be more efficient, effective and patient-centric. - Johnny Hecker, Consensus Cloud Solutions

Source URL : Forbes