Exploring Opportunities and Use Cases for AI in Australian Healthcare
AI, or artificial intelligence, has gone from the pages of a science fiction novel to a tool we use every day in the healthcare sector. With greater accuracy, processing power and capabilities than ever before, this new technology brings countless opportunities. Artificial intelligence systems can be used to examine data, find insights and connections and speed up processes across the sector.
According to PwC AI is getting increasingly sophisticated at doing what humans do, but more efficiently, more quickly and at a lower cost. The potential for both AI and robotics in healthcare is vast. Just like in our every-day lives, AI and robotics are increasingly a part of our healthcare eco-system.
Below we've rounded up some opportunities and use cases for AI in healthcare.
Improving Efficiency with AI
One of the big advantages of using AI in health settings is the ability to reduce the pressures on overstretched healthcare professionals. AI systems can work 24/7, without breaks or holiday demands, increasing efficiency in hospitals through process transformation. There are a number of applications for Artificial Intelligence in the healthcare sector, including:
- Analysing healthcare data
- Health monitoring
- Robotics
- Drug development
- Diagnostics
- Clinical trials
- 24/7 operations
Cases of AI in Healthcare
The variety of AI systems developed to aid the healthcare sector continues to increase and they are being introduced in hospitals, surgeries and businesses across the world.
Basic Healthcare Assistance
One of the more common adoptions of AI in healthcare is the use of basic diagnostic apps and health monitoring apps which can be used for basic healthcare assistance. While, of course, getting a medical opinion from an expert is essential, for minor illnesses and symptoms, having a highly-trained and instant access medical tool can be a helpful first step. They can also notify the patient if a healthcare provider is needed and what symptoms to look out for, which has been a huge advantage in the Covid-19 pandemic. Prestigious medical institutions have adopted AI-based symptom and cure checkers, with many others following suit.
Diagnosing blood diseases with AI
Another exciting case study for AI in health is Harvard University’s teaching hospital, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center which is developing and using AI-enhanced microscopes to scan blood samples for harmful bacterias. These machines could identify and predict harmful bacteria in the blood at an accuracy rate of 95% and far quicker than manual scanning.
Reducing medical errors
One of the biggest benefits of using AI in healthcare is the reduction of errors. Medical errors account for up to 10% of deaths in the USA and having an AI system to check, process and analyse medical data can be game-changing. According to a study by Frost and Sullivan in 2016, AI could potentially reduce medical errors by 30-40%, with huge banks of patient data to learn from and find patterns in.
Diagnosing breast cancer with AI
Using algorithms, an AI model was able to recently diagnose breast cancer from mammograms at a higher rate than a panel of expert pathologists. The international team designed a computer model with data from X-ray images from nearly 29,000 women who were anonymised. There was a reduction in false positives and false negatives, showing just how accurate AI and deep learning can be in the field of diagnostics. Though humans are essential for building, supervising and maintaining the system, it could ease the workload, improve accuracy and free up time for radiologists in the future.
To learn more about the opportunities of healthcare data and analytics, robotics and AI in health join us at the free to attend Australian Healthcare Week Expo 2022 on March 16th - 17th at the ICC, Sydney where an expert panel of Australian Healthcare leaders will discuss in more detail.
