RamaOnHealthcare May 7, 2024
Barbara Duffy, DHSc, MPH, RN, CPHQ
All the predictions are not in yet, but regardless widespread change is about to occur throughout the entire Healthcare industry.
Dr. Bertalan Mesko is the Director of The Medical Futurist Institute and a Keynote Speaker, Researcher, and Author. His highly informative and concise 53-page book, 100 Questions and Answers about AI in Healthcare quickly prepares you with responses to questions everyone in healthcare needs to know. This book introduces the Reader to the pros, cons, definitions, uses, benefits, and concerns of the tremendous changes about to impact Healthcare.
…pros, cons, definitions, uses, benefits, and concerns of the tremendous changes about to impact Healthcare.
I doubt anyone foresees AI and Healthcare effortlessly integrating into a brilliant new utopia overnight. And to his credit, and as a Medical Futurist, Dr. Mesko points out actual and potential challenges along the way.
His book contains essential advice, definitions, and information to readily gain vital insight, such as the:
- Basics of AI,
- Large Language Models (text, audio, images, video, and more),
- Clinical Trials, Research, Predicting Pandemics, Drug Development, Cancer detection,
- Ethics and privacy concerns, and
- Regulatory challenges.
AI Goals include:
- Assist the work of medical professionals (not replace them) and improve efficiency and patient outcomes.
- Improve patient medical record management and reduce human error.
- Alleviate alarm fatigue. Identify alarms requiring immediate response and attention.
- Aid with clinical trials.
Needs and Concerns include:
- Physicians need technical proficiency and basic comprehension of how AI models work.
- Scrutiny of AI output and recommendations remain essential.
- Ethics and accountability regarding AI are areas in need of further consideration.
- Time is required to build trust and comfort with AI.
- Maintaining respect between mountains of information vs. experienced human wisdom.
Physicians need technical proficiency and basic comprehension of how AI models work.
More questions and considerations ahead:
- How does AI handle No Code situations and determining end of life decisions.
- Standardized Regulatory, Legal, FDA, Accrediting, etc.
- Ethics, liability, and bias clarity.
- Absolute global protection of information and inaccessibility to Hackers.
- How/who to regulate Generative AI?
Many questions are addressed in the book. Yet, from my personal background in healthcare, I had a few more. How can this new frontier of AI also address long standing operational challenges in healthcare?
How can it be used to also:
- Eliminate Medical Error,
- Integrate and Improve Patient Safety,
- Determine methods to improve and standardize Structure, Process, and Outcome,
- Readily address and meet the needs of culturally diverse patients,
- And instantly provide policy and procedures to caregivers anywhere.
I provide my gratitude to Dr. Mesko and his inciteful book and information. I recommend it for all headed into the brave new Healthcare world ahead.
Find this very informative book here – 100 Questions and Answers about AI in Healthcare
About Barbara Duffy
A healthcare consultant, university professor, author, and committee member with over three decades of experience improving the design and delivery of safe, quality health care and more. Experience includes aligning evidence-based practices with administrative processes and implementation of systemic solutions to positively influence patient care and healthcare delivery. As a Doctorate educated Licensed RN, Risk Manager, and Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality other expertise includes accreditation, regulatory compliance, performance improvement, and online higher education instruction.