Imagine walking into your physician’s office to be greeted by an advanced humanoid robot. They access your health issues, provide bedside manner, and then see you off.

Okay…so we are not quite there yet, but artificial intelligence in medicine is reported to grow to an over 17 billion dollar industry by 2024! With the current rate of growth in the industry, we might get there sooner than we think.

How is it helping our doctors now, though? The modern doctor’s office is benefitting from medical AI in more ways than you may realize.

So, let’s take a look at these fascinating uses for AI in the medical field.

The 7 Ways Artificial Intelligence in Medicine Is Helping Doctors Now

It is easy to understand the need for AI in the medical field. With the population inching towards nearly 8 billion, healthcare must adapt to serve the people. These advances and AI technology are already helping doctors serve their patients more efficiently.

Avatars and Mental Health

While there is an obvious correlation between the use of computers and the negative impact on mental health, there is also another, more positive side.

Avatars have been used in experiments with patients suffering from depression and anxiety.

Scientists at the University of Southern California conducted a study using virtual humans to ease patients into opening up.

The study requested participants to reveal answers to deep or emotion-provoking questions such as, “What do you feel most guilty about?” or “What is your deepest secret?” to either a virtual human or to a real person.

The results showed that in most cases the participant would rather communicate with the avatar. This breakthrough is monumental in the way doctors are moving forward with treating mental health.

Since the initial study, the experiment has been replicated. Scientists are finding that avatars can help with anxiety and depression.

Time Consolidation

For many in the medical field, there is never enough time. The average doctor’s appointment has been reduced to just a few minutes in some cases.

So how are doctors using AI to help make every second count?

Doctors are using products like DeepScribe to ensure that they don’t miss a beat when it comes to patient care. DeepScribe works as a virtual assistant for the doctor.

The doctor will log in to the account and DeepScribe will begin recording the entire visit with accurate and important details about the patient. It is as simple as a doctor-patient conversation.

This AI technology allows for eye to eye contact between doctor and patient with no pesky note-taking or forgotten information. In other words, it frees up time to allow for better patient care.

AI Diagnosis

In the world of colon health, AI is already making waves. In a randomized trial in China, doctors used AI to diagnose colon polyps. The AI increased polyp detection by 29%, including the detection of polyps less than 5mm, which are easily missed by doctors.

The eyes are another area that AI has helped within the modern medicine world.

Diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of blindness in working-age adults. Conditions like this are now able to be predicted before it is too late using algorithms. The Moorfields Eye Hospital has trained its algorithm to almost 95% accuracy in diagnosing over 50 eye diseases.

Biopharmaceuticals 

Therapeutic drug use continues to be a necessity. Streamlining the process in which drugs are developed and used is paramount in patient care, health, and overall cost.

Companies like BioXcel Therapeutics use algorithms to re-innovate drugs and provide therapeutic relief to patients.

The company’s dedication to developing new medicines led them to be known as one of the “Most Innovative Healthcare AI Developments of 2019.”

Optimizing Patient Flow

Optimizing wait time frames during a crisis or in a high capacity emergency room is key for patients and for doctors. Utilizing AI in medicine to streamline the process is now being used in AI like Qventus.

The AI platform works by correcting operational issues such as tracking wait times, finding the fastest ambulance routes, and prioritizing patients based on their illnesses or injuries.

Access to Healthcare 

Nearly half of the world lacks access to healthcare. That is staggering.

AI is helping to widen access to healthcare. Many new telemedicine apps ease the process of receiving medical attention.

AI apps can provide personalized healthcare and reduce the cost for patients. AI chatbots within the platform can access symptoms and recommend the course of action for the patient.

Medical Data Management 

The data from medical files and research is neverending in a hospital or clinic. But several technologies now allow doctors to mine through patient data and medical research with ease.

AI can consolidate research and sort through massive files to analyze data and give doctors insight into treatments and cures. Other technologies are combining data with AI to predict risk within the hospital and reduce loss.

AI is proving very useful in streamlining the data collection and research process.

Moving Towards the Future

The industry is growing rapidly with no end in sight. Advances in artificial intelligence in medicine are saving lives and saving money. predicting the outcomes of illnesses and streamlining care is just the beginning.

With more research and more innovation, our entirely AI doctor visit might not be too far off!

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