Can AI Help Make Healthcare More Affordable for Patients?
Artificial intelligence is changing the way we practice medicine across various domains, including dermatology, pathology, radiology, surgery, and infertility. AI algorithms are rapidly evolving to enhance processes such as image analysis, pattern recognition, and data-driven assessments, which improve clinical practices and enable the early diagnosis and treatment of illnesses.
AI is still a relatively new technology in healthcare; however, it has the potential to make healthcare more affordable and accessible to everyone. As a doctor as well as co-founder and president of a business that uses fertility technology that is powered by AI or robotics technology, I am able to see how AI advancements are opening new avenues and opportunities for patients of all backgrounds.
Ways AI can make healthcare more affordable to all
AI helps in streamlining the back-end operations ,and that is another lesser-known but impactful way in which it is making the healthcare system more affordable. The AI in revenue cycle management supports healthcare providers with billing, coding, claims, and more, thereby mitigating administrative costs and errors that delay or deny payments.
Preventive care: Help identify issues before they become serious.
AI can help identify high-risk patients who require preventive treatment by analyzing their medical history and demographics, PwC points out. “The purpose of early detection is to improve the health of patients before expensive medical treatment is needed for serious or chronic diseases.” More:
Being aware of problems early will allow patients to take on healthy lifestyles to manage risk factors, like diabetes or hypertension levels, to avoid deterioration and prolong their lives.’
Personalized health care: Identify and prevent crises.
AI can aid in better diagnosis and treatment for patients by analysing vast quantities of data in order to identify patterns and provide specific insights, according to the authors. By considering a patient’s genetic makeup and contributing factors, such as lifestyle and environment, tailored treatments can address each patient’s individual needs and characteristics, they say. Additional:
This approach could enable more precise diagnoses that are effective, as well as an opportunity to reduce costs prior to issues becoming urgent.’
Predictive care: Remove barriers to clinical research.
Researchers are using AI to help attract participants to clinical trials that might be difficult to find otherwise, PwC notes. “This AI-powered analysis enables researchers to reach out and recruit a wider and more diverse pool of trial participants.”
Information that is inclusive of minorities is vital in the development of algorithms that can better serve the demands of populations that are vulnerable.’
Community health workers are empowered through proactive care.
Its World Economic Forum’s Digital Health Alliance recently published a report that highlights examples and implementation models for health professionals in the community who help patients manage high blood pressure and diabetes. As PwC notes in the report, it found that “equipping community health workers with [AI and other] digital health tools can empower them to be more effective.”
Notably, 6 out of 10 tools for digital health assessed not only track care gaps but also alert health professionals with the potential to intervene before an expensive medical emergency.’
