Artificial Intelligence (AI) has a major role to play as a catalyst in the healthcare revolution. As we experience the fourth industrial revolution in this century, the proliferation of technologies has fused the physical, digital and biological worlds. The impact of AI on the global economies and industries is unparalleled.
With the change in environment and lifestyles of people around the globe, we witness a major challenge in the form of chronic diseases.This has put a pressure on our healthcare system. According to statistics, chronic diseases cause 7 out of every 10 deaths. These are both predictable and preventable.AI is expected to play a very pivotal role in addressing the solutions that provide personalized medicines and other interventions.
Let us look at a few trends where AI is expected to become the key factor in addressing the chronic disease challenges in the healthcare system.
- Disease detection with Big Data and Deep Learning
AI has already started revolutionizing the healthcare industry by leveraging big data analysis that has optimized the healthcare services. Recently, Google’s Deepmind Health project and IBM Watson for Oncology have set a new example of technological blessing in the healthcare field by analyzing patients’ data and providing personalized treatment plans. Such treatment plans combined various attributes from the patient’s file, clinical expertise, external research and data.
- Assistance from Chatbots and virtual assistants
Chatbots are becoming increasingly popular among businesses these days. They have recently entered the healthcare field and look very promising. Some Chatbots help in contacting local doctors, booking appointments and asking questions. Virtual assistants are bring about changes by generating personalized treatment plans. Besides this, AI technologies can be leveraged to ensure better treatment plans and medication adherence.
- Convenient drug distribution
Drug distribution is set for a radical overhaul under AI in the fourth industrial revolution. Digital device makers are already experimenting with the so-called ‘implantables’ that use bioelectric sensors to track patients’ vital signs and release a drug dose as and when required. Also, there is an increased usage of drones that deliver drugs to remote areas or disaster zones.
With the help of AI, patient monitoring is expected to be faster and easier in the future. It will be much easier to diagnose the illness and thus, reduce the risks associated with any chronic disease. Virtual patient nursing and assistance will reduce human labor and increase the efficiency of the overall healthcare industry.
Over the coming decade, the power of AI and its role in healthcare is undeniable. Practicing more precision medicine than intuitive medicine will make health care simpler, more accessible, and less expensive. By helping us understand the patients’ diseases precisely, AI will push our healthcare system to deliver the best outcome.
We stand on the doorstep of the ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’, a technological wave that revolutionize the way we live, work, and relate to one another. AI is expected to be integrated into the healthcare fabric and transform how we look at well-being unlike anything humankind has experienced before.