Like it or not, we are all being exposed to Generative AI (GenAI) on a daily basis, as companies use it to accelerate research, mine data, create marketing campaigns, or generate revised text from large bodies of different material. GenAI is focused on getting things done faster, and the potential applications of GenAI systems will individualize treatment decisions and accelerate treatment delivery.
In our previous post, “Artificial intelligence tools – transforming healthcare”, we looked at how narrow AI – AI designed to complete very specific tasks – is being used to streamline workflows in the healthcare industry. The other major category of AI systems, Generative AI, differ in that they have the ability to autonomously create new content from user-specified information.
The application of artificial intelligence in healthcare is to improve efficiency, increase effectiveness, and improve the healthcare experience for patients and providers.
In designing and using AI the desired goals must focus on providing added value to the patient process, by supporting different requirements of healthcare operations, such as:
- Personalization of the treatment process
- Daily task automation
- Diagnostic and treatment process support via data analysis and customization
- Improvement of the patient experience with faster processing and improved documentation
Although more elaborate in operation, the application of the GenAI, as with narrow AI, must be designed to address specific needs. Examples of GenAI in healthcare include:
- Compressing research findings with medical literature summaries, allowing a doctor to stay up-to-date with the most relevant material
- Improving documentation and reporting by generating patient information summaries from previous clinical information
- Supporting treatment decision making and outcome prediction through the summary of clinical notes, medical records, and potential drug response predictions
- Developing healthcare education material for simulating surgical procedures, emergency response, and clinical decision making.
By deploying Gen AI solutions the healthcare provider will save time on administrative work, information gathering, and patient documentation, and be able to spend more time with individual patients.
Using AI is not about maintaining treatment delivery as it’s currently implemented. Instead, the value of AI will be seen in increasing efficiency and effectiveness of healthcare systems that already feel the strain of growing and aging populations. Generative AI, as it gets adopted by providers, will have a direct impact on treatment efficacy by improving access to required information and generating solutions.
