AI in Healthcare - Travis Chu by Travis Chu

Personalized Overview

travischu1 — 2025-03-14 16:36:08 UTC

One of society's most essential industries, Healthcare, is constantly evolving to keep up with the demand for efficient and quality healthcare. Many of these demands involve increasingly personalized and precise treatments and faster, more efficient treatments. Artificial intelligence has found its place in healthcare with its ability to assist doctors and patients alike. AI improves the healthcare industry by more efficiently providing diagnostics, assisting administrative staff in hospitals and clinics, acting as stand-ins for nurses and doctors in patient care, etc.

I chose healthcare as the industry to focus on because of its possible impact on everybody, transcending cultural, financial, class, and social boundaries of societies. Artificial intelligence in healthcare can save and improve lives, assist doctors in patient care, and advance healthcare technology and practices. However, in a broader context, AI can make healthcare more accessible, helping improve the quality of care regardless of where it may be - ignoring otherwise unavoidable social boundaries.

In this Padlet, I will cover:

Diagnostics and AI
Treatment Plans and AI
Patient Care and AI

Again, I believe that artificial intelligence in healthcare can open up new avenues that may have never before been considered. It can improve the quality of care and the quality of life across all classes and social levels, making quality healthcare something that isn't exclusively reserved for those who could afford it.

Healthcare - Quantum AI in Diagnostics

travischu1 — 2025-03-15 01:32:59 UTC

Quantum artificial intelligence developed by companies such as IBM, Rigetti Computing, and Google is currently revolutionizing the healthcare industry in diagnostics as they allow datasets to be processed at great speeds. Not only can data be processed at unprecedented rates, quantum AI can also detect diseases like cancers and neurodegenerative diseases. This is capable through quantum AI’s utilizing technologies such as machine learning, natural language processing, and computer vision. Machine learning and natural language processing allows quantum AI to analyze patient records and other data to find patterns that can lead to early diagnosis of diseases sharing similar patterns. Computer vision and imaging can help in aspects of medical imaging such as radiology improving detection capabilities of cancer which can lead to earlier diagnosis. Challenges faced in the use of quantum AI would be its high cost as this is still a rather advanced form of AI and the challenge of integrating it into existing healthcare systems. Regardless, I believe that quantum AI can be at the forefront of medical advancement and can save lives with better diagnosis, making cancer a disease that may not be as deadly as it is now.

Quantum AI in Diagnostics Video

travischu1 — 2025-03-15 02:09:49 UTC

Healthcare - AI and Precision Medicine

travischu1 — 2025-03-15 03:22:13 UTC

IBM Connect 360 and IBM Watson Care Manager are examples of how AI is revolutionizing personalized treatments in healthcare. Advancing the concept of "precision medicine," AI makes it possible to make personalized treatment plans by analyzing medical data and records, recognizing patterns, and suggesting treatments based on these patterns. This is possible through technologies such as machine learning and natural language processing which allows them to analyze patient records, clinical trials, and other literature to formulate the best treatment. Another strength of AI in making treatment plans is in combating fraud, in which about 10% of annual medical spending may be spent on. It can identify and better deal with issues of fraud by analyzing discrepancies of data. However, some challenges facing this specific example is data privacy and ethics, biases, and continued human supervision of AI activity. Regardless, I believe that with future developments AI can efficiently provide personalized treatment for patients.

AI and Precision Medicine Video

travischu1 — 2025-03-15 03:23:16 UTC

Healthcare - Chatbots, Virtual Assistants, and Patient Care

travischu1 — 2025-03-15 05:15:31 UTC

Babylon and Ada are some examples of AI chatbots used in the healthcare industry for patient care. Like other AI technologies in the medical world, AI in patient care like Babylon and Ada utilize both machine and natural language processing to provide patient care such as administrative support, advising, and analysis. One of the strengths of AI in this function is that it can provide effective and immediate 24/7 care, being able to provide treatment plans and suggestions based on reported symptoms. This can be improved by integrating these AI into portable devices such as smartphones, smartwatches, etc. This technology's challenges are data security, policies and regulations, and potential misdiagnosis by patient misinput. Despite these setbacks, I believe that AI can revolutionize patient care and be pivotal in caring for patients without easy access to medical care.

Chatbots, Virtual Assistants, and Patient Care

travischu1 — 2025-03-15 05:18:30 UTC

Future Trends and Ethical Considerations

travischu1 — 2025-03-16 05:24:48 UTC

As healthcare becomes more advanced, AI is poised to be at the head of many of these groundbreaking advancements. This is as trends in the healthcare industry begin to move towards automation, such as using Quantum AI in imaging, data analysis, and diagnosis. These functions would result in more efficient imaging and analysis and also allow doctors to do more with less time and effort spent on other aspects of medical work, increasing efficiency in general. Also, through machine learning and natural language processing, AI can act as care providers in their own right, being able to create treatment plans and suggestions to patients who have access. This can result in better patient monitoring, which means that patients can have 24/7 access to care without requiring manpower from human doctors and nurses.

Despite these benefits, there are also ethical considerations regarding the integration of AI in healthcare systems and the industry overall. One of the primary issues is that of AI’s access to sensitive patient information such as names, addresses, social security, insurance, and medical history. Just as human doctors and nurses must abide by ethical codes and regulations such as HIPAA, AI needs to abide by these same ethics to protect patient confidentiality. There must also be strong and strict protections insuring bad actors like hackers and non-authorized personnel do not have access to these sensitive pieces of information.

Although there is a place for AI at the head of development in healthcare, it must also be tempered by ethical considerations. In a way, AI may become care providers in their own right and by that logic can and should be obligated to oblige by the same ethical considerations as human medical practitioners. If this can be done, AI’s full capability can be utilized to provide the best treatment possible.

Societal Impact

travischu1 — 2025-03-16 06:02:46 UTC

While artificial intelligence has been making waves within the healthcare industry, its repercussions can be felt beyond the industry itself and by society as a whole, influencing aspects such as medical access and equity. Being able to monitor patients both in and out of medical institutions, patients can now receive 24/7 care regardless of their access to a hospital, doctor’s office, or clinic. This can provide a once lucrative service for those who can’t make the journey to one of these facilities, whether it be because of financial, geographic, civil, or a mix of all these reasons. It can also provide quality healthcare to those in places without a heavy presence of human healthcare professionals.

However, AI in healthcare also presents several social challenges, such as those related to employment. For example, since AI can perform much of the administrative duties of hospitals, it could negate the need for hospital administrative staff, affecting human employment. As AI becomes more advanced and better at diagnosing conditions, hospitals may find that they do not need to hire humans to perform diagnoses. If unchecked, AI could reinforce unequal biases in healthcare, such as those regarding those from marginalized, underrepresented groups in society.

Regardless of these challenges, I believe AI can do great things for both the healthcare industry and society as a whole. It can provide care to those who otherwise cannot access it, whether they cannot get to it or do not have access to it. This can be particularly important for the financially or physically incapable or those who simply don’t have the infrastructure. With human supervision and social ethical consideration, AI can balance the fine line of benefitting all communities equally without threatening the professionals of the industry.

Reflection

travischu1 — 2025-03-16 07:54:51 UTC

Throughout the research and creation of this padlet, I learned many new things while also overcoming some challenges. I learned about the impact that AI currently has on our healthcare system, a reality that is much more extensive than my previous understandings of the dynamic. It also opened my eyes to new avenues of understanding how AI can impact healthcare, particularly amongst patient care where they can provide 24/7 monitoring and constant support without the immediate attention of human staff. I did face some challenges such as finding a specific example for artificial intelligence in “precision medicine” and understanding new social and ethical considerations. Regardless, I believe that AI can be a great asset to the healthcare industry, but like all things, done so in moderation.

References

travischu1 — 2025-03-16 07:57:02 UTC

References

Alowais, S. A., Alghamdi, S. S., Alsuhebany, N., Alqahtani, T., Alshaya, A., Almohareb, S. N., Aldairem, A., Alrashed, M., Saleh, K. B., Badreldin, H. A., Yami, A., Harbi, S. A., & Albekairy, A. M. (2023). Revolutionizing Healthcare: The Role Of Artificial Intelligence In Clinical Practice. BMC Medical Education, 23(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-023-04698-z. [Rationale: This article provides a general background and overview of the role of artificial intelligence in healthcare, providing some necessary information for understanding the role of AI].

Bajwa, J., Munir, U., Nori, A., & Williams, B. (2021). Artificial intelligence in healthcare: Transforming the practice of medicine. Future Healthcare Journal, 8(2), 188–194. NCBI. https://doi.org/10.7861/fhj.2021-0095. [Rationale: This article delves into the methodology of developing AI, providing insight on how AI is being developed for the medical industry and its limitations].

James. (2024). Quantum Computing in Medicine. Medical Sciences, 12(4), 67–67. https://doi.org/10.3390/medsci12040067. [Rationale: The article provides a comprehensive overview of quantitive artificial intelligence in data analysis and imaging, better clarifying its roles in diagnosis].

Johnson, K. B., Wei, W., Weeraratne, D., Frisse, M. E., Misulis, K., Rhee, K., Zhao, J., & Snowdon, J. L. (2020). Precision Medicine, AI, and the Future of Personalized Health Care. Clinical and Translational Science, 14(1). https://doi.org/10.1111/cts.12884. [Rationale: This article covers artificial intelligence and the concept of “precision” healthcare, providing insight into the role of AI such as IBM and its challenges].

Park University. (2024). AI in Healthcare: Enhancing Patient Care and Diagnosis. Park University. https://www.park.edu/blog/ai-in-healthcare-enhancing-patient-care-and-diagnosis/. [Rationale: This website provides a general overview of AI in healthcare as well as some of its roles such as in patient care, diagnosis, imaging, etc.].

Overview Video

travischu1 — 2025-03-16 16:07:14 UTC