EST 110 AI and Healthcare by Grace Lin Lin

Personalized Overview

gracelinlin — 2025-10-12 02:38:06 UTC

Healthcare encompasses a vast range of applications to help patients who are suffering from diseases. Due to its range, there are numerous jobs and opportunities in Healthcare, all while making a meaningful difference in others' lives. That is the main reason I'm pursuing a career in Healthcare, and why I have chosen this industry to explore AI applications and their impact on Healthcare and society as a whole. I've always enjoyed helping people, but I recognize that humans make mistakes, which can sometimes lead to harm to others. I believe that AI will help with that, since AI is algorithmic and pattern-based, it will be less likely to make mistakes if appropriately trained, and people will be less likely to get hurt. It would also make Healthcare professionals' lives easier, allowing them to focus on other aspects of Healthcare, which would improve Healthcare as a whole. AI has been widely used in Healthcare in recent years, enabling faster diagnostics, patient monitoring, better understanding of diseases, and more personalized treatment plans tailored to individual patients. This will only improve in the future, as AI may be able to create patient models that show doctors the best way to administer care. The three AI applications I will be discussing are Medical Imaging, Virtual Health Assistants, and Remote Monitoring. With further training, AI Medical Imaging enables more accurate detection of human health issues during scans and X-rays, leading to fewer errors. Virtual Health Assistants will provide support to patients, with occasional check-ins and reminders about appointments and basic health information, allowing healthcare members to focus on more critical issues. Remote Monitoring enables the processing of information such as heartbeats and sleep patterns for better diagnosis of the patient's health. Although this process is already somewhat established, it can be refined and expanded further, allowing for more precise and accurate diagnoses based on speech, appearance, and tone.

Healthcare - Medical Imaging

gracelinlin — 2025-10-12 02:43:52 UTC

Medical Imaging with AI, the process of using AI to review scans and screening to catch errors, will make reviewing information significantly faster and more efficient. AI can analyze chest/CT/MRI imaging, among other modalities, to assist doctors in detecting, classifying, and monitoring diseases. AI has been able to detect problems as efficiently as, if not more efficiently than, doctors. The specific AI technology used would be Machine Learning and Computer Vision, with Machine learning algorithms being trained on datasets to recognize patterns associated with particular diseases. There’s also computer vision, where the AI system processes and interprets the data from the scans, noting features that the trained eye might not see. This means we can reduce diagnostic problems due to human mistakes, speed up analysis, and all the while prioritizing urgent cases. However, there are some limitations. The interpretability and thought process of AI are not always well understood, and AI might have biases from the data given to it.

Healthcare- Virtual Health Assistants

gracelinlin — 2025-10-12 02:47:04 UTC

Virtual Health Assistants are AI tools designed to interact with patients by providing them with medical information, assisting them with appointments, and supporting disease management. Some AI technologies used include Machine Learning, which enables learning from datasets and interpreting patterns. AI can identify potential diseases, and Natural Language Processing enables it to comprehend text and speech. Some benefits of Virtual Health Assistants include, but are not limited to, 24/7 accessibility, reduced workload for healthcare members, and more personalized plans due to a greater focus on each individual. However, there are drawbacks. AI still struggles with interpreting symptoms, which may lead to inaccurate information. In addition, the lack of human empathy in AI and language barriers may also reduce human satisfaction.

Healthcare- Remote Monitoring

gracelinlin — 2025-10-12 02:48:29 UTC

Remote Monitoring, or Remote Patient Monitoring by AI, tracks real-time patient Health data, including heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen level, glucose level, and physical activity (such as steps taken). Hospitals can use information provided by the monitor to manage chronic conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and more, which can help with earlier detection of Health problems and allow for timely intervention. Technologies used include Machine Learning and Predictive Analysis, which enable the data to be analyzed and understood, allowing the machine to predict the diseases patients have based on the data. Some positives of this include early intervention, allowing patients to get help earlier, reducing hospital readmission, active management of health, and more. The negatives include the reliability of the device, which may result in false negatives/positives, data overload, and concerns over data privacy.

Future Trends and Ethical Considerations

gracelinlin — 2025-10-12 02:50:02 UTC

With AI usage at an all-time high and slowly being integrated into Healthcare, one question that must be asked is how AI will work with current healthcare strategies. Since AI excels at well-defined tasks, it's better to utilize AI in those areas of Healthcare. AI is never meant to replace doctors; therefore, it should focus on the technical aspects rather than the emotional aspects of Healthcare. For example, ongoing clinical roles are using AI for radiotherapy to check which zones in the head and neck should be targeted. These are just some of the current trends in Healthcare. One possible future trend is AI extracting information from patient data to form a consultation management system. It takes a doctor a considerable amount of time to review all the information for one patient. Still, with AI, this process can be completed much more quickly, allowing doctors to focus on caring for the patient instead of reviewing their information. AI might also be able to determine the risk accessibility of patients by reviewing their scans and results, reassuring those without significant problems and prioritizing those with difficulties, thereby lessening wait times. However, there are also some ethical concerns, mainly related to potential errors in AI, such as fabricated information (hallucinations), biases and stereotypes, as well as stubborn answers. AI can generate answers or data that are potentially harmful to patients due to incorrect information. In addition, depending on what the AI is trained on, it may perpetuate human biases in the data, leading to some patients being overlooked and others receiving incorrect diagnoses. AI also struggles with change, often being stubborn, which can lead to future cycles of misinformation despite the doctor's efforts to rectify the problem.

Societal Impact

gracelinlin — 2025-10-12 02:50:28 UTC

Since AI has become such a significant presence in Healthcare, it’s only prudent to consider how AI will impact the field of Healthcare. As AI becomes increasingly popular among the Healthcare community, there will likely be job displacements by AI. Specific roles in Healthcare may become automated, such as front desk clerks who make appointments, medical coders, and professionals who perform basic diagnostic tasks. Healthcare members may also be required to learn additional skills beyond Healthcare essentials, enabling them to utilize AI effectively. This can lead to specific skills becoming more competitive, resulting in a reduced workforce in Healthcare as a whole, as more specialized skills are required. Professionals might also become overly reliant on AI, which may lead to a loss of critical thinking skills and judgment. AI will also impact privacy, as AI systems have access to vast amounts of sensitive information, making them vulnerable to hacking. Some patients might also not want AI being used to look over their information; however, due to the technicalities of AI, they might not know AI is being used. In addition, as mentioned earlier, depending on the data provided to the AI, it may generate biases based on that information, which could harm patients. In addition, some areas will have more access to AI than others, creating a wide gap in the quality of Healthcare in different regions. Overall, people must work together with AI instead of using AI to replace them, since without humans to oversee AI, who knows what AI can do?

Reflection

gracelinlin — 2025-10-12 02:50:51 UTC

This was overall a fun assignment. I searched for information using Google and selected the most reliable sources available. I learned a lot about how AI is used in Healthcare and future trends of AI in Healthcare, which is good because I’m going into Healthcare. One of the challenges I faced was finding the information on the sections I wanted to write about. Although the sites provided general information, I struggled to find more specific details, so I had to supplement my writing with information from the sites and prior knowledge from my other assignments. I think AI is slowly integrating itself into Healthcare, and people will definitely start to use AI more. This may lead to higher job displacements, or it might lead to better Healthcare because care can be provided faster. This research has influenced my understanding of AI by making me more aware of its benefits and revealing its vast potential, while also making me more cautious of its drawbacks.

Overview Video Part 1

gracelinlin — 2025-10-12 03:09:22 UTC

Overview Video Part 2

gracelinlin — 2025-10-12 03:13:33 UTC

Overview Video Part 3

gracelinlin — 2025-10-12 03:15:10 UTC

References

gracelinlin — 2025-10-13 01:54:31 UTC

Mayo Clinic Press Editors. (2024, March 27). AI in healthcare: The future of patient care and health management. Mayo Clinic Press. https://mcpress.mayoclinic.org/healthy-aging/ai-in-healthcare-the-future-of-patient-care-and-health-management/

This article discusses the pros and cons of AI in Healthcare, as well as future trends in the field.

‌The Impact of AI on the Healthcare Workforce: Balancing Opportunities and Challenges. (2021). Himss.org. https://www.himss.org/resources/impact-ai-healthcare-workforce-balancing-opportunities-and-challenges/

This article talks about problems in Healthcare and how AI can help.

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

This scientific article provides a brief overview of Healthcare AI, including the various tools used in its application.

‌Buch, V. H., Ahmed, I., & Maruthappu, M. (2018). Artificial intelligence in medicine: current trends and future possibilities. British Journal of General Practice, 68(668), 143–144. https://doi.org/10.3399/bjgp18x695213

This article discusses current and future trends in AI.

‌North, M. (2025, August 13). 7 ways AI is transforming healthcare. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/stories/2025/08/ai-transforming-global-health/

This article supports and expands on the AI healthcare tools.

‌Restrepo, D., & Abdulnour, R.-E. (2023, December 15). How Is AI Used in Health Care? | Mass General Brigham. Www.massgeneralbrigham.org. https://www.massgeneralbrigham.org/en/about/newsroom/articles/how-is-ai-used-in-health-care

This article talks about how AI is used in Healthcare and the pros and cons of that.