AI personalizes healthcare, transforming delivery and saving lives

Technology has been enabling healthcare for years. From large organizations to small clinics, providers in different parts of the world have used applications, data management platforms, and many other systems as key ways to improve their operations and drive better clinical outcomes. Their modernization efforts are still underway, but the strategic focus is shifting towards one key trend – AI.

At a time when healthcare providers are facing staff shortages and patients continue to demand better quality of care, AI is being seen as the key answer. Technology, with its ability to tap into large repositories of data, including patient-specific data, can personalize care delivery. This could ultimately reshape how healthcare providers diagnose, treat and interact with patients, enabling them to move away from generic, one-size-fits-all approaches.

How exactly is AI personalizing care delivery?

While AI has been around for quite some time, ChatGPT’s meteoric rise has pushed its applications front and center at various levels of the healthcare ecosystem. One of these is diagnostics. AI-driven systems can analyze large amounts of patient data to provide personalized diagnoses and treatment recommendations. Watson Health, a division of IBM that focuses on the application of AI and data analytics in healthcare, is the leader in this space. Their technology analyzes various patient parameters, including medical history, genetics and disease symptoms, to diagnose the underlying condition and provide personalized treatment recommendations.

According to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the oncology-specific artificial intelligence decision support system Watson Health achieved a 93% compliance rate with the treatment recommendations of a panel of tumor experts. This high level of accuracy demonstrates how AI-powered personalization can improve diagnostic accuracy and treatment effectiveness, ultimately leading to better patient outcomes.

Beyond detecting and recommending treatments for ongoing problems, AI-driven personalization can also help with preventative care. Essentially, algorithms can analyze a patient’s daily measurements, such as SPO2 and BP (among others), and combine them with data related to lifestyle and genetics to predict a person’s chances of suffering from a particular health problem – as well as the steps they can take (think specific lifestyle changes) to prevent it.

A study published in PLOS One showed that an AI-driven approach could lead to a reduction in hospital readmissions and emergency department visits. This not only shifts the focus of patients from reactive treatment to proactive prevention, but also saves health care providers resources that would otherwise be spent on extensive follow-up or treatment.

However, personalizing prevention, diagnosis and treatments is only one piece of the healthcare puzzle.

AI is also playing a crucial role in personalizing medical prescriptions, an area where 100% accuracy is vital. Incorrect drug prescriptions can lead to adverse reactions and even death in some extreme cases. A 2016 study by the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine found that medical errors, including incorrect prescriptions, are responsible for over 250,000 deaths a year in the US alone.

Fortunately, AI-powered tools can address this issue by analyzing factors such as patients’ genetic makeup and medical histories to predict how they will respond to specific medications. This allows health care providers to tailor prescriptions to each patient individually, significantly reducing the risk of adverse reactions and improving treatment efficacy.

Management of administrative processes

While clinical care is at the forefront of AI personalization, the technology is also improving administrative processes in healthcare. It simplifies tasks such as appointment scheduling, invoicing, and support, making them more personalized and efficient.

Zocdoc, an online platform for booking medical appointments, is the best example of AI helping with administrative tasks. The company’s platform uses machine learning to ensure appointments are seamlessly integrated into healthcare providers’ schedules, potentially reducing patient wait times and increasing the likelihood of timely care. It even helps patients check their health coverage and estimate the total cost of treatment by simply taking a photo of their health card. Another player in the category is Nabla, which uses LLMs to generate clinical notes from doctor-patient interactions, saving the hassle of manually documenting information.

Notably, chatbots and generative AI agents are also transforming patient engagement and improving their access to care. They analyze patient data and provide them with 24/7 access to personalized support if they need help with registration, referrals, scheduling or prescription refills. This technology has significantly improved the patient experience, making individuals feel more valued and understood.

Overall, the impact of AI-powered personalization on healthcare is substantial and growing. Technology has already improved patient-caregiver interactions, enabled tailored prescriptions, and improved preventive care strategies, making health care more efficient, effective, and patient-centered. As AI continues to advance, its potential to revolutionize healthcare is likely to expand. Future developments may include further personalization of treatment plans and deeper integration of AI into all aspects of healthcare delivery.

However, as these advances take shape, it will be equally vital to address the potential challenges associated with AI, particularly the privacy and security of healthcare data used by AI models. Organizations using these tools should strive to preserve the human touch in patient care and help address potential biases in AI algorithms. It will all be based on how they cooperate with the companies that develop these tools and the governments that set the regulations for their use.

In the long run, the potential benefits of AI-powered personalization in healthcare will be enormous. By embracing this technology responsibly and ethically, the healthcare industry can move toward a future where truly personalized care is the norm, leading to better health outcomes for all.