These days, everyone seems to be talking about artificial intelligence, or AI. With technology quickly evolving, AI is becoming a major force in shaping society. Along with advancing self-driving cars and improving chatbots, AI is integrating into modern healthcare services. Areas of notable progress include in cancer and disease detection, personalized treatment pathways, predictive analysis, and storing medical documents.
Around 4.5 billion people worldwide lack access to essential healthcare, and the healthcare workers’ shortage is expected to exceed 11 million by 2030. Experts claim that new technology and AI systems have the potential to close this gap.
As part of the effort to address the limited access to care and the shrinking medical workforce, experts are turning to innovative solutions — particularly in the field of artificial intelligence. This integration is particularly evident in cardiology, where AI is being used to interpret ECG readings with high accuracy.
Medical centers across the globe, including the highly respected Mayo Clinic, have been implementing AI to detect and predict medical problems. Specifically, Mayo Clinic has developed technology that predicts heart disease from ECG readings.
ECG readings (electrocardiograms) are exams that record the electrical activity of the heart. These scans detect atrial fibrillation (AFib) by analyzing the heart’s activity and identifying irregularities in rhythm and waveform patterns. ECG scans are generally common and can be detected from technologies such as a smart watch.
As cardiovascular disease is the number one killer worldwide, doctors suggest that AI technologies can help detect disease early instead of waiting for a deadly or life altering event such as a stroke.
Along with cardiovascular health, AI has the ability to detect over 1,000 diseases. AI can also spot bone fractures, assess brain scans, and even predict the likelihood of requiring a call for an ambulance.
Experts predict that the most impactful function of AI in healthcare is rapid diagnosis, which has the potential to save millions of lives. Rapid diagnosis is often effective before patients even experience symptoms.
A well-known multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company has engineered an AI machine learning model that detects the presence of certain diseases before the patient experiences symptoms. This system can pick up signatures in individuals that are highly predictive of developing diseases such as Alzheimer’s, chronic pulmonary diseases, kidney disease, and more.
Along with disease prevention, AI technology is making strides in hospice and palliative care. The technology is being implemented to streamline repetitive and routine tasks such as documentation, scheduling, symptom tracking and predictive analysis. This allows clinicians to focus on the wellbeing of their patients rather than administrative tasks.
Utilizing AI to improve time and schedule efficiencies allows caregivers to spend more meaningful time with patients, focus on personalized care, and make data-informed decisions that improve overall quality of life.
While the developments in healthcare AI are impressive, in comparison to other industries the healthcare field is below average in adopting AI. A study from 2024 shows that while there was a 28% increase in physicians that had used AI tools between the years 2023 and 2024, most of this usage was for administration or low risk support. This suggests that while acceptance of these tools is growing, their integration into high-stakes clinical decision-making remains limited. Physicians overall are using a cautious approach in utilizing AI.
It’s important to keep in mind that AI tools are an enhancement, not a replacement for medical systems. And while AI systems and technology can support clinical decisions, disease detection, and administrative work, AI cannot replace the empathy and compassion that supports patients through end-of-life care. The human connection of hospice care is irreplaceable, even as technologies evolve and grow.
Sources:
Georgia Tech: AI in Healthcare Could Save Lives and Money — But Change Won’t Happen Overnight
World Economic Forum: 6 ways AI is transforming healthcare
Hospice News: The Future of AI in Hospice Care
