Should AI be used in health care? Risks, regulations, ethics and benefits of AI in medicine

Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing healthcare. Dr. Stephen Parodi, Executive Vice President of External Affairs, Communications, and Brand at The Permanente Federation, discusses the benefits and concerns of AI in medicine. He shares how AI is already being used and what needs to happen to make sure it helps patients and doctors.

The Promise of AI in Healthcare

AI is already making a difference in healthcare. It helps doctors in many ways, making care better and more efficient.

Early Successes

• Population Health: AI algorithms can predict which patients are at risk of getting sicker. This allows care teams to step in early, potentially saving lives and reducing hospital visits. It's not AI working alone; it's AI helping doctors do their jobs better.

• Radiology: AI helps radiologists find cancer, especially breast cancer in mammograms. It doesn't replace the radiologist but makes their work more accurate and faster. This means quicker diagnoses for patients.

Helping Doctors with Daily Tasks

One exciting use of AI is in clinical documentation. AI can listen to patient visits and create notes automatically. This saves doctors a lot of time, sometimes an hour or two a day. This extra time can be used for patient care, which is a big win for everyone.

Concerns and Challenges with AI

While AI has many benefits, there are also important things to think about. It's not as simple as just putting AI into practice; there are real concerns that need to be addressed.

Privacy and Monitoring

Using AI to generate notes brings up questions about patient privacy. It's important to make sure that patient information is kept safe. Also, humans need to monitor the AI to ensure its documentation is accurate and correct. This means doctors and healthcare staff are still very much involved.

Fairness and Bias

There's a risk that AI could accidentally treat some patients differently than others. This is called "redlining" or introducing biases. It's important to make sure AI is used fairly for everyone, and if any unfairness is found, it needs to be fixed right away. Doctors need to be part of these conversations to make sure AI helps everyone equally.

Regulation and Oversight

Who makes the rules for AI in healthcare? This is a big question. It's important for government agencies to talk to doctors and get their input on how AI should be used and monitored. Clear rules are needed to make sure AI is safe and effective.

Moving Forward: Safe and Fair AI Use

To make sure AI is used safely and fairly, healthcare organizations are taking important steps.

Open Conversations and Governance

• Transparency: It's important to be open with both doctors and patients about how AI is being used.

• Teamwork: Healthcare groups are setting up systems to discuss how AI is put into practice. This includes talking about what works, what doesn't, and the ethical side of things. It's not just a technology issue; it's about how healthcare is delivered.

• AI as a Tool: AI should be seen as a tool to help doctors, not to replace them. This idea is very important.

Broader Community Involvement

• Collaboration: It's not just one healthcare group's job. Technology companies, other health systems, and all types of doctor's offices (big or small) need to work together.

• Policy Making: Organizations like the American Medical Association (AMA) are working to create clear policies for AI. This involves talking to lawmakers and sharing real-world examples of how AI can be used well. State medical societies are also important in this process.

The Need for Speed

AI is already here, and it's changing things fast. Healthcare needs to set up rules and measures quickly to make sure AI is used effectively and safely. This means defining what good AI use looks like and what problems to avoid. Doctors need to lead this effort to ensure technology works for them and their patients, not the other way around.

By working together and setting clear guidelines, healthcare can use AI to improve patient care and support doctors, making sure it's a positive change for everyone involved.