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AI in Healthcare is Altering the Face of Hospital Management

If we look back at the human race, we can consider ourselves the luckiest when it comes to minimising mundane day-to-day tasks. We do not have to wait in long queues to pay bills, we do not have to be physically present for business meetings and we do not even have to step out for basic things like food, shelter and clothing! What more can we ask for?

Guess what, this is just the beginning. New technology advances are bringing about drastic changes in almost every sector, including the complex world of healthcare and medicine. Artifcial Intelligence has played a key role in bringing about the technology advances we have witnessed so far, and we can expect more. Basically, Artifcial Intelligence is the mechanism through which computer algorithms work together with software to decipher conclusions without direct human intervention. What this means for the healthcare industry is that crucial man-hours spent in complex operational and logistics tasks can be saved with AI-aided devices. This will improve the performance of hospitals, doctors and nurses, and give patients a more focused and personalised service.

Here is a quick look at medical tasks that have been simplifed with the help of AI in healthcare:

1. Improved Medical Records & Treatment Solutions

The direct impact that AI and machine learning in healthcare has brought to doctors and patients alike is its ability to interact with personal medical history. Earlier medical prescriptions, bills, reports and scans were stored haphazardly. But now this data is being put to practical use. Artifcial Intelligence and digital automation robots can collect, store and analyse data. This information is further used to provide consistent and faster medical feedback. Doctors are able to take more educated decisions when it comes to diagnosing new patient illnesses and taking precautions for the future.

2. Automation of Customer Relationship Management

The healthcare industry spends a lot of time and resources on customer care management. Many of these services are of a basic nature and can be automated through well-developed technology. CRM basically requires understanding customer queries and providing correct responses. This could include information-sharing, booking an appointment or stating certain facts pertaining to the hospital or doctor.

Nowadays, AI aided chatbots work with knowledge sharing systems to provide relevant solutions. These systems use data of questions and answers accumulated over its lifetime. However, for chatbots to provide accurate and relevant information, healthcare organisations will need to actively work on building these knowledge libraries.

3. Tracking Vital Stats of ICU Patients

Technology innovations are allowing AI devices to provide predictive and advanced analysis of incoming data. This is being used in some hospitals to track key lab data like a patient’s pulse rate, blood pressure count and breathing pattern and raise an alarm in case of emergencies. The device needs to be fxed to the ICU beds incoming information is beamed through an app to the related doctor or nurse’s device.

4. Health Insurance Verifcation Simplifed

Patients fnd it difcult to understand and select the right insurance plans and share it with the hospital at the required time. Also, most patients are not sure if their insurance covers the particular ailment they have been admitted for. This leads to a wastage of insurance money and also distrust in the benefts that insurance provides. Moreover, hospital staf also spend a lot of wasted hours in following up with patients and third-party insurance providers to fnally realize a claim.

With AI aided insurance checkers, patients and hospital staf can exchange insurance information in no time. The way AI works is that it has been fed with data of thousands of various insurance options available along with details of the plans. So when a customer feeds in specifc insurance information, the AI is able to pull out details and validate the insurance. Both the patient and the hospital staf beneft from this device.

5. Decoding Lab Results

It is not just the simple stuf, complex information is also being interpreted by AI devices these days. AI enabled apps are able to use natural language processing to decode lab reports and impart fndings to patients. This is possible because there is a large pool of data regarding illnesses and test results. And machine learning allows easy diagnosis and analysis of this data. AI devices are taking away one additional task of interpreting lab reports from the doctor’s hectic time schedule.

6. Higher Efciencn in Hospital Operations

Artifcial Intelligence is enabling hospital command centres to use predictive analysis for improving hospital workfow. These command centres can prioritize activities that will help provide better patient service and faster solutions. Some areas positively impacted by AI includes an ability to admit more number of patients, attend to critical cases on priority, identify patients with complex medical conditions, dispatch ambulances faster and quicken patient discharge process among others.

These solutions are just the tip of the ice-burg. AI in healthcare is showing a lot of promise and there are several new and innovative AI- based healthcare solutions that are being created on a daily basis. Hospitals, technology companies and data scientists are working together to create benefcial solutions that address real-time problems.

However, the long-term benefts are yet to be seen. Many traditional hospitals are nowhere close to incorporating these new tech solutions in their centres. How long will it take for AI to reach mainstream healthcare environments; it is yet to be seen.