Just a few years ago, AI was a futuristic concept. Now, AI is even transforming healthcare. The rapid developments in AI technology offer astonishing opportunities for healthcare, it can be used to increase efficiency, make it more accessible, economically sustainable and used in practice(Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare, 2025).
What I think is really interesting and quite impressive, is the practical application of AI in clinical practice, which includes the following two:
Early detection of Sepsis: AI is already used in intensive care units to detect the upcoming of sepsis, a disease that costs millions of lives a year. It can prevent these life threatening situations, by giving fast and valuable insights (Prenosis, 2024).
Breast cancer detection: There is a reduction in mortality of roughly 40% among women that attend for breast screening. However, screening every woman is very time consuming while the workforces in hospitals are under pressure. Only in the Netherlands 1 million women are screened a year, but since reading the mammograms is quite prone to errors, double readings are required in most countries. Despite all this, still the cancer gets missed sometimes. Studies now show that AI can analyze the mammograms without intervention of a doctor, heavily reducing the workload and even the potential to improve quality of screenings (AI For Breast Cancer Screening May Replace Radiologists, 2023, June 6).
I find these developments of AI usage exciting. It shows that AI can not only be used to improve efficiency, but is also able to save lives and really improve the the care system in ways that humans are not capable of alone. However at the same time, I think it is important to keep it nuanced. AI can support doctors, but human insight remains very important in ethical and complex situations. Additionally, doctors remain accountable for their decisions and cannot rely fully on AI. So personally, I see AI as a partner rather than a replacement in healthcare. It can improve outcomes and give the doctors more time to focus on the human aspects of their work.
References:
AI for breast cancer screening may replace radiologists. (2023, jun 6). Radboudumc. https://www.radboudumc.nl/en/news/2023/ai-for-breast-cancer-screening-may-replace-radiologists
Artificial Intelligence in healthcare. (2025, August 8). Public Health. https://health.ec.europa.eu/ehealth-digital-health-and-care/artificial-intelligence-healthcare_en
Prenosis. (2024, December 5). Sepsis ImmunoScoreTM named a TIME Best Invention of 2024 | Prenosis. https://prenosis.com/news/sepsis-immunoscore-named-a-time-best-invention-of-2024/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
