Artificial intelligence holds promise in medicine

(HealthDay)—Artificial intelligence (AI) in health care offers opportunities for early detection and triage, diagnostics and personalized medicine, and medical decision-making, according to an article published in Managed Healthcare Executive.

According to the article, AI is a tool to be integrated into health care practices rather than a stand-alone solution. AI technology offers simultaneous opportunities and challenges.

First, AI can help with early detection and triage by, in part, cutting through the large volume of information that medical practitioners must consider. However, more resources will be necessary for these technologies to reach their full potential. Second, AI's ability to explore large data sets offers opportunities for novel diagnostics and personalized medicine, though this will depend in part on whether traditionally under-represented populations will be sufficiently represented to avoid sample bias. Finally, AI may become a powerful tool to support clinical decision-making by human caregivers, but clinicians must take care not to become overly reliant on AI for this purpose.

"Whether AI becomes as ingrained in the health care system as a surgeon scrubbing down before operating will depend on the extent to which the key participants in the health care system—patients, providers, payers, and regulators—are willing to embrace these technologies," according to the article.

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