BTN News: Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing medicine in new and exciting ways. Frost & Sullivan, an American consulting firm, says AI can increase good patient results by 30 to 40%. Governments and private companies are investing a lot in AI. They believe the healthcare AI market will be worth $67.4 billion in three years. However, there are still some problems that need fixing before AI can reach its full potential in healthcare.
ASHO, a healthcare coding company, points out one big problem: making sure data accurately represents everyone in the population. If the data is wrong, patients might get bad diagnoses, which can be harmful. Ruth Cuscó, the managing director of ASHO, says we need to keep investing in AI experts to fix this bias. While AI can sometimes be wrong, we have a lot of data that can help make patient care better. But we must make sure this data is good to avoid mistakes in diagnoses.
Another big issue is that some groups of people are not well-represented in the data. For example, many disease prediction models use mostly male data, which can lead to mistakes when diagnosing women. The same problem can happen with different races, ages, or lifestyles. Experts say we need to collect and use the right data to avoid these biases.
Creating a fair healthcare system is also about doing what is right. Cuscó says we need more professionals who understand both AI and data analysis. She says AI will never replace the experience and judgment of healthcare professionals but will be a helpful tool.
The main goal of AI in healthcare is to make patient care safer and better. AI also helps with medical research, which is important for the future of medicine. Even though we have made a lot of progress, we still need to keep an eye on biases. Regular checks and constant validation of data are necessary. Cuscó calls for more AI specialists, saying that healthcare is a basic right and giving the best care is a duty for both professionals and the administration.
In conclusion, AI promises to change healthcare by improving patient outcomes and advancing research. But to achieve these goals, we need to fix data biases and ensure all groups are well-represented. As AI keeps growing, combining technology with human expertise will be key to creating a safer and more effective healthcare system for everyone.
