Artificial intelligence is making a tangible difference in health care today. It’s not about science fiction or flashy gimmicks. It’s not about deepfakes or plagiarized term papers. AI is being responsibly used to prevent medical errors, enhance clinical decision-making, expand access to care, and lower costs.
While there’s certainly overenthusiasm and some misleading claims about AI, we can’t ignore the many instances where it’s making health care more efficient, effective and patient-centered.
The roots of AI go back centuries, with the first predictive algorithm credited to the German mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss in 1795. However, it’s only in the past decade that AI and machine learning have truly taken off, thanks to exponential advances in computing power and data availability. The true potential –and risk– of AI and ML algorithms have accelerated with unique applications and approaches being developed.
Today, these technologies are being used to predict health risks, recommend treatment options and even generate new medical insights.
Opinion
At the Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation, we’ve been researching and testing AI in health care for over a decade, with a focus on serving the most vulnerable populations. Our approach is rigorous and scientific, ensuring that the technology assists clinicians; decisions are understandable, and patients are at the heart of everything we do. We believe that AI can truly transform health care, but only if it’s developed and used responsibly.
PCCI has created a health care-focused, secure, trademarked and private digital platform called Isthmus, where health care data can be safely stored and analyzed using cloud technology and industry-standard tools. The platform is deployed within the hospital’s existing electronic environment to protect sensitive personal health data from being exposed to the outside world. This protected environment provides confidentiality and security for sensitive patient information while enabling advanced analysis and modeling capabilities.
This health care focus relies on a set of principles:
- Clearly articulate the problem: Ensure the AI is solving a real problem and not just engaging in “cool math.”
- Assemble a multidisciplinary team: From the start, include a passionate lead clinician, operational experts, technology specialists and ethics/legal/compliance reviewers.
- Prioritize data quality and relevance: Curate, validate and analyze diverse data that accurately reflect the patient population.
We understand that accuracy is paramount in health care, which is why we take a careful and methodical approach to developing, deploying and monitoring health care applications. Our processes prioritize patient safety and reliable results.
It’s crucial to emphasize that the AI and ML tools developed by PCCI are designed to augment, not replace, the expertise and judgment of health care professionals. Our mission is to empower health care teams with the information and insights they need to make informed decisions and deliver the best possible care to their patients.
AI is being used to prevent harm, enhance clinical decision-making, expand access and reduce costs. It should be developed and deployed with clinician oversight and patient focus.
Whether everyone knows it, understands it or even likes it, AI is here to stay. It is exploding in health care and increasingly making a huge difference in our lives.
Steve Miff is president and chief executive of the Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation.
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