Illness and disease have always existed, so it makes sense that medicine has been practiced in various forms since the start of humankind. In the mid-19th century, humans entered into a new phase of “modern medicine”, which was characterized by the scientific breakthroughs in genetics, medical technology, and chemistry, which allowed trained physicians to more accurately diagnose and treat their patients. Since then, progress in the medical field has increased life expectancies and improved qualities of life for many populations around the world.
One of the biggest challenges facing the human population today is the shortage of qualified physicians to take care of the ever-growing world population. In an article published by TheNextWeb.com (2017), it is estimated that the shortage of healthcare professionals worldwide is now over 7 million. Having worked in a hospital in Kenya, I can personally attest to the issues that arise when qualified there is a lack of health education in a certain area. With millions of people without access to a physician or other health education source, issues are missed that could easily be solved with the advancements that we have recently seen in the medical field.
What has been interesting over the past few years is to see how artificial intelligence can play a role in helping to even these numbers. AI has been incorporated into healthcare systems, hospitals, and into patient driven devices that can be used to close the gap between people and the healthcare system. Some of the major developments that have been introduced include: chatbots, virtual assistants, and emotional intelligence indicators, which aim to provide health education, while also identifying patients who may require professional assistance.
While the goal of using AI in healthcare is not to replace healthcare professionals, it is certainly changing patient and physician practices. Not only can AI be used to provide physicians with all of the data and information that they need to make an informed decision on their patient, it also changes the patient population. Recent trends in health AI show that using advanced technologies allows for physicians to see more patients in a shorter amount of time, while also allowing for patient triage (sorting the patients by urgency) before the patient even enters their healthcare providers office. While AI may not be able to produce more physicians, being able to get rid of repetitive jobs while streamlining physician’s time is a big step to solving our medical shortage.
References
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/info/medicine/modern-medicine.php
http://www.healthcareitnews.com/slideshow/how-ai-transforming-healthcare-and-solving-problems-2017
I like your article. However, I have wondered who would invest in AI systems in low income countries – countries where the shortage of quality healthcare is especially high. Should industrialized countries or private companies invest in AI systems there and what would be the overall outcome? Would low-income countries be made even more dependent on big multinational corporations? Who controls those AI machines at the end of the day?