AI in Healthcare: Use Cases and the Future Ahead

Last Updated: April 2, 2024

Artificial intelligence (AI) is advancing at a rapid pace. As its capabilities become more diverse and complex, so do its applications.

Early in its rise to prominence, AI was identified as having a potentially revolutionary impact on the healthcare industry. Although traditionally resistant to change, many healthcare organizations have moved quickly to adopt AI, harnessing it in innovative ways to improve their operations and enhance patient care.

How does artificial intelligence work?

Generally, AI systems work by absorbing large amounts of labeled data, analyzing it to identify patterns and correlations, and using its findings to make predictions about future outcomes. An example of this is a chatbot, which is fed examples of human text chats and processes them to learn to produce lifelike exchanges with users¹.

What types of AI are being used in healthcare?

Of the many different types of advanced AI applications, there are three which have become prominent: generative AI, machine learning, and robotics.

Generative AI is a term used to describe algorithms and systems that can be used to create new content, such as text, images, or audio. Though the technology has been around for decades², it has gained notoriety following the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022.

Machine learning is a branch of AI that focuses on the use of data and algorithms to enable systems to imitate the way humans learn and process information. The more data that can be consumed, the more accurate the system will be in its output.

Robots are relatively common in healthcare facilities, but the list of tasks they’re able to perform has been extended by artificial intelligence. With the power of AI, robots can perform tasks faster and more accurately. In some cases, AI-enabled robots can work independently, rather than being operated by humans.

How is AI being used in healthcare?

The versatility of AI means its applications are diverse and varied. Here are some of the most impactful and innovative examples of AI’s use in healthcare.

AI Models Analyzing Public Health

By utilizing the ability of AI to comprehend and draw conclusions from large datasets, healthcare organizations can lay the foundation for precision public health. Using data points such as people, places, and time can provide a higher volume of more accurate and detailed insights on the determinants of disease, both for individuals and population levels. The CDC also suggests this application of AI “can help accelerate public health surveillance and shape public health policies and implementation activities³.”

Remote Sensing Identifying When Medical Equipment Needs Maintenance

Using the capabilities of remote sensing, healthcare providers can learn when their medical equipment requires maintenance. Phillips highlights one case of remote sensing allowing them to monitor and analyze more than 500 parameters on an MRI machine⁴. The data empowered them to proactively identify when hardware parts may need maintenance or to be replaced. They say that “as a result, 30% of service cases can be resolved before downtime is caused — preventing avoidable interruptions to clinical practice and unnecessary patient delays.”

AI and Robotics Helping Diagnose Lung Cancer

Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist in North Carolina is using AI and robotics tools to improve early detection of lung cancer. The tools analyze imaging nodule characteristics to predict the likelihood of lung cancer, categorizing patients into high-risk, intermediate-risk, and low-risk categories⁵. By utilizing the tool, the health system hopes to reduce unnecessary biopsies for patients classified as low risk and decrease the number of false-positive tests.

AI Scanning Images to Detect Breast Cancer Risk

Massachusetts General Hospital has harnessed the ability of an AI system developed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to detect patients at high risk of developing breast cancer. Discover Magazine recalls the story of one patient who showed no signs of concern visible to human radiologists but was identified by the system as being “high risk for getting breast cancer in the next five years” after it scanned the patient’s images. Four years later, the patient indeed developed breast cancer⁶.

Chatbots Engaging Patients and Easing Staffing Shortages

To stay in communication with patients, Northwell Health conducted health chats using a chatbot. Among the system’s oncology patients, these chats generated a 94% engagement rate. In addition, 83% of clinicians say the health chats extend the care they can deliver⁷.

Generative AI Providing Companionship to Seniors

A “sidekick for healthier, happier aging”, ElliQ is a digital companion for elderly patients from the New York State’s Office for the Aging. The tabletop platform, powered by AI, interacts with users through voice commands, on-screen instructions, and proactive suggestions. It harnesses AI to ensure these interactions feel natural, effortless, and personalized. A study of the initial rollout found ElliQ resulted in a 95% reduction in loneliness⁸.

What is the future of AI in healthcare?

It’s not a matter of if artificial intelligence is the future of healthcare, it’s a matter of when its integration is complete, with experts predicting it will transform nearly every area of medical practice over time⁹. AI will only become more advanced, and its applications will continue to become more diverse.

The ongoing development of AI will be driven by private investment. In March 2024, Abridge, the leader in generative AI for clinical documentation, announced it has received $150 million of investment, just four months after it raised $30 million¹⁰. It’s not just established leaders securing heavy investment, either. At just one year old, Hippocratic AI was valued at $500 million after a funding round in March 2024¹¹.

There are obstacles to AI’s takeover of the healthcare industry, though. There have long been ethical and security concerns about the use of AI in healthcare. In May 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) called for the safe and ethical use of AI, warning that “precipitous adoption of untested systems could lead to errors by healthcare workers, cause harm to patients, erode trust in AI, and thereby undermine (or delay) the potential long-term benefits and uses of such technologies around the world.¹²”

The potential for AI to be used against the healthcare industry is also a worry. Tom Cunningham, I.T. and cybersecurity expert, recently told us that AI has put the healthcare industry “at the forefront of innovation and on the brink of extreme vulnerability,” as many organizations have "lost sight of the [cybersecurity] adaptations required to accommodate AI securely, ethically, and compliantly.”

These safety concerns have caught the eye of Congress. Various government committees and agencies are discussing the topic, with legislation sure to follow. One example is the proposed Algorithmic Accountability Act of 2023, which would " require healthcare systems to regularly assess whether the AI tools they develop or select are being used as intended and aren’t perpetuating harmful bias.¹³”

Adopting artificial intelligence will soon be essential for healthcare organizations to remain competitive and deliver the highest standard of care. To help our members harness the potential of AI while also saving money, we’ve partnered with a selection of AI experts. If you’d like to find out more about our AI partners or joining CNECT, contact us today.