How is Artificial Intelligence Transforming the Healthcare Industry

The emergence of AI in healthcare has been transforming, redefining the way we diagnose, monitor, and treat patients. This cutting-edge technology is driving massive innovation in the industry, facilitating rapid advancements in drug discovery and development while empowering healthcare professionals to provide enhanced and expedited care.

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has further pushed the healthcare industry to adopt AI. The pandemic supported the widespread adoption and advancements of AI-based healthcare, enabling their effective utilization in diagnosis, detection, patient care, clinical trials, claims settlement, and virtual assistants.

According to Statista, AI in healthcare was worth around $11 billion worldwide in 2021 and is estimated to reach $188 billion by 2030, increasing at a CAGR of 37% from 2022 to 2030.

AI in healthcare can immensely benefit providers and patients in different areas of operations, including improved patient care, chronic disease management, early risk identification, workflow automation, and optimization.

In this article, we will look into artificial intelligence at length to get an idea of how AI is used in healthcare and how the technology will reshape the industry in the future.

Real-World Examples and Use Cases of AI in Healthcare

From making an accurate diagnosis to maximizing hospital efficiency, AI applications in healthcare have proven to be a boon for the industry. Here are a few ways AI is revolutionizing the healthcare industry and driving it toward digital transformation.

1. Offering Robot-Assisted Surgery

It is one of the most common applications of AI in healthcare. AI and collaborative robots have revolutionized surgical procedures, reducing the risks of blood loss, pain, and other side effects. Furthermore, with AI in healthcare, surgeons can perform complex surgeries with greater accuracy, leading to faster and smoother post-surgery recovery for patients.

For instance, Maastricht University Medical Center has been utilizing AI-powered robots to suture small blood vessels, some no thicker than 0.03 millimeters. Using AI in medicine and healthcare, surgeons can access real-time information and insights into a patient’s current health condition. This AI-backed information enables healthcare providers to make prompt, intelligent decisions before, during, and after procedures to ensure the best outcomes.

2. Detecting Fraud

The US Justice Department states that 3% of healthcare claims in the country are fraudulent. It translates into a $100 billion loss annually. With AI-based healthcare, professionals can detect invalid claims and speed up the processing, approval, and payment of valid ones. Apart from detecting insurance fraud, AI in healthcare also prevents patient data from being stolen.

Leading healthcare service providers such as Harvard Pilgrim Health are embracing AI to root out healthcare fraud. They use AI-based fraud detection systems to identify claims and detect suspicious behavior.

3. Supporting Clinical Decisions

AI and ML in healthcare are changing the way clinical providers make decisions. AI delivers data to assist healthcare professionals in diagnosing, treatment planning, and health management. The technology also supports decisions in data-intensive specialties like ophthalmology, radiology, and pathology. It may even make it possible to perform certain tasks autonomously using AI in the near future. With natural language processing, AI can also help translate clinical notes in EHRs, enabling clinicians to enter data only once.

4. Assisting in Repetitive Jobs

Healthcare is now moving towards the Cognitive assistant world, which comes with the capabilities of reasoning, analytics, and a complete range of medical knowledge. The recently launched algorithm, Medical Sieve, has been stated qualified to assist in cardiology and radiology decisions. The cognitive health assistant analyzes the radiology images to detect issues faster and more reliably.