The potential for both artificial intelligence and machine learning in healthcare is vast. The role of AI in healthcare has been a huge talking point in recent months, especially with it hugely benefiting both healthcare providers and patients.
The healthcare industry continues to evolve as the adoption of AI and machine learning becomes more prevalent. The global AI in the healthcare market size is projected to grow from $4.9 billion in 2020 and hit $45.2 billion by 2026 and is predicted to grow at a CAGR of 44.9% during the forecast period.
As per the report, the biggest factors driving the AI in healthcare market growth include the increasing volume of healthcare data and the complexities of datasets, improving computing power. Moreover, the rising imbalance between healthcare providers and patients is driving the need for improvised healthcare services.
Integrating AI into the healthcare ecosystem has multiple benefits, like automating tasks and assessing large patient data sets to deliver better healthcare faster, that too at a lower cost.
A good chunk of healthcare costs is mostly linked to administrative tasks. AI can automate some of these tasks like following-up on unpaid bills, pre-authorizing insurance, and maintaining records to ease the workload of healthcare providers and ultimately save costs. AI also has the ability to analyze large data sets by pulling together patient insights and leading to predictive analysis. Moreover, quickly obtaining patient insights can help the healthcare system to discover critical areas of patient care that need improvement.
The availability of wearable healthcare technology that uses AI can also better serve patients today by analyzing data to alert users and healthcare professionals on potential health issues and risks. The ability to assess one’s own health with the help of technology also eases the workload of professionals and prevents unnecessary hospital visits.
In an exclusive interview with EnterpriseTalk, Christopher Malter, CEO of Avalon.ai, says, “From a healthcare perspective, we are going to see a higher acceptance of AI integration from an aggregate perspective. There is going to be more integration of AI at the point of care, and that’s what will redefine the standards of care and outcomes.”
“Today, people still rely upon healthcare providers and hospital systems to offer the latest treatment protocols. But, what I see is that there is going to be transference of ownership in healthcare to the patients. This will be possible through the integration of IT and AI in healthcare apps and technologies the patients will have access to,” he adds.
Also Read: The Impact of Digital Transformation on the Healthcare Industry in the Post-COVID World
The healthcare industry must be attentive when it comes to protecting technologies with vulnerabilities that can be exploited, like AI and ML. For instance, artificial intelligence is a dual-use technology and can be deployed either defensively or offensively.
AI in healthcare can also be used to automate phishing, which is usually the initial point of compromise in case of most cyber-attacks. Spear-phishing, which is often tailored to the recipient using data gathered about the recipient, can be significantly more damaging, with fully automated attacks disrupting organizations. AI systems can also be used for other nefarious purposes like automated cyber-attacks on hospital networks, which can put lives at risk—especially those patients that depend upon life-saving devices that need network connectivity.
“The healthcare systems have been completely reactive, but now they need to be more proactive. The onus is on them to move very quickly by maintaining rules and regulations in place and also ensuring that the necessary cybersecurity protocols are in place. Right now, it is crucial that hospital systems and healthcare providers truly embrace the patient journey from the beginning to the end, and technology can help them do that,” adds Christopher Malter.
Prangya Pandab is an Associate Editor with OnDot Media. She is a seasoned journalist with almost seven years of experience in the business news sector. Before joining ODM, she was a journalist with CNBC-TV18 for four years. She also had a brief stint with an infrastructure finance company working for their communications and branding vertical.
