Over the last century, the medical advancements we’ve achieved have been nothing short of astronomical. Dialysis, the defibrillator, CT scans, bionic limbs: all of these incredible innovations were brought to market in the last hundred years. And AI healthcare is the next frontier.
You’ve probably seen AI-generated art and buzz about ChatGPT shared far and wide across the internet – but behind the scenes, artificial intelligence has already made ripples throughout the healthcare space.
How AI is Transforming Healthcare
A medical professional’s most important job is to make timely and accurate diagnoses. With the help of AI for healthcare, they may very well be able to boost the speed and precision of their work.
Machine learning algorithms, for example, can process huge amounts of data in the blink of an eye. When presented with a significant volume of medical documentation, these algorithms can rapidly cross-reference information to identify patterns and predict medical outcomes. It might take humans weeks or months to analyze this same data – and even then, they might miss certain trends or takeaways. Healthcare AI does away with human error and crunches information in record time.
For now, AI for healthcare is mostly being applied in a hospital setting. However, we predict that its adoption will become more widespread as the technology evolves. Imagine a world where it could be used beyond a clinical setting, to further customize at-home care solutions, or monitor clients remotely using wearable technology?
AI Applications in Healthcare
Healthcare AI is reshaping research, diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring in so many ways. Here are the main applications we’re seeing today, with more to come down the road.
Electronic Health Records (EHR)
As mentioned above, AI can help healthcare professionals make sense of the vast amounts of data contained within EHRs by identifying patterns and insights that may be missed by human analysis.
Medical Imaging Analysis
In addition to identifying patterns within large sets of clinical documents, AI can also be trained on medical imagery – think X-rays, scans, and ultrasounds. Analyzing these images can similarly lead to more accurate diagnoses and personalized treatment plans.
Genomic Analysis
Genomic data is yet another type of information that can be analyzed by AI. In this case, it’s used to identify genetic markers that may be associated with specific diseases or conditions, leading to more personalized treatments and improved client outcomes.
Customized Care Plans
What if your entire medical history could be combed in a second, then compared against countless other clients’ information? AI can analyze client data, such as records and genetic information, to provide personalized treatment recommendations based on individual characteristics and medical history. It can also predict potential treatment responses.
Drug Developments
Drug development is one of the most tightly monitored and regulated industries in the world, and for good reason! Significant research and testing are required before a new medication can hit the market – and with the help of AI, we can accelerate the discovery and approval process. By analyzing biomedical data, it’s possible to identify potential drug candidates and predict efficacy even faster than before.
How Remote Monitoring & Telehealth has Changed With AI
Whether a client is in hospital or at home, AI-powered devices and applications can remotely monitor their health status, collect data, and provide real-time alerts to healthcare providers, like medication reminders and vital sign updates.
Before this technology became available, caregivers would compare clients’ health data to general trends to identify any concerns or aberrations. It was a rules-based system that left little room for personalization. Now, they can benchmark vital signs and other information based on each individual’s history, making for much more precise diagnoses.
Not only can AI collect a larger pool of data that is more personalized and detailed, but it can also analyze huge volumes of information at lightning speed. It can suggest interventions, prioritize actions, and flag anomalies without a hint of bias, helping practitioners make informed decisions with a quickness.
Growth of AI in Healthcare
All of the applications mentioned above are just the beginning for healthcare AI. These technologies have already evolved so much in the last few years, and we expect to see countless new avenues for AI to improve client care, accelerate research, and enable even more positive outcomes.
Machine learning algorithms, such as neural networks and deep learning, crunch huge amounts of data to gradually learn about a given topic. The more information is fed into the ML engine, the more accurate its outputs will become. This is great news for the healthcare industry, as AI healthcare diagnoses, treatments, and predictions have already started to improve – and will only get better over time.
Natural Language Processing techniques enable computers to understand and interpret human language. It can quickly extract information from medical records and assist in clinical decision-making, or even be used to power chatbots that can answer client questions. The latter application has particularly important potential in remote and home care settings, where medical professionals are not on the premises.
In the three-dimensional world, AI-powered robots are already beginning to assist surgeons in performing complex procedures. In a not so distant future, there may be AI-enabled devices and platforms in every operating room, ready to assist with precision and accuracy. AI algorithms can also analyze medical images, helping radiologists detect abnormalities and assist in diagnosis.
How Machine Learning is Used in Healthcare
Machine learning (ML) uses algorithms such as neural networks and deep learning to process massive amounts of healthcare data, learning patterns, and improving accuracy over time. In clinical settings, this can mean more precise diagnoses, personalized treatment recommendations, and stronger predictive models for client outcomes.
A powerful branch of ML, Natural Language Processing (NLP), enables computers to understand and interpret human language. NLP can quickly extract critical insights from unstructured sources like medical records, supporting faster and more informed clinical decision-making. It also powers chatbots and virtual assistants that can answer client questions, which is especially valuable in remote and home care environments where immediate access to a medical professional is not always possible.
Benefits of AI in Healthcare & Home Care
The entire healthcare system is powered by all kinds of different software platforms and technologies. Some are designed to treat clients in clinical settings, and others are meant to facilitate home care. No matter the situation, AI is poised to transform the industry as we know it – and for the better.
Improved Care Quality
AI can improve care quality by providing more accurate diagnoses, personalized treatments, and a more effective way to manage medical records. In a home care context, AI can pinpoint opportunities for increased efficiency and service – for example, a caregiver can use a mobile app to optimize their travel routes – to ensure staff arrive on-time and deliver the necessary care when it matters.
Better Client Outcomes
AI can help healthcare providers detect early signs of diseases, provide timely interventions, and track clients’ health data over time, leading to better client outcomes and improved quality of life. It can even be used to monitor clients remotely, opening the door to advanced home care solutions that keep medical professionals more connected than ever to their outpatients’ situations.
Improved Access to Care
AI can improve access to care, especially in remote and underserved areas, by enabling providers to reach more clients through telemedicine services powered by AI.
Early Disease Detection & Prevention
By leveraging AI technologies, healthcare professionals can make more informed decisions, save time, reduce costs, and improve overall medical records management.
The Transformative Role of AI in Healthcare
AI’s ability to push the healthcare industry forward is limitless. It can harness vast datasets to forecast disease trends, allowing for early intervention. It can tailor treatment plans to individual client profiles, optimizing outcomes. Finally, AI facilitates continuous monitoring and management of chronic diseases, offering real-time insights for better client care.
At AxisCare, we have always been driven by a passion for innovation, and we continually push the boundaries to provide you with forward-thinking solutions that will help you better care for seniors. With our unwavering commitment to innovation, we are dedicated to staying at the forefront of AI advancements and incorporating its potential into our software. We believe that AI is not just a futuristic concept but a practical tool that will change how home care agencies operate, ensuring better outcomes for seniors.
The Future of AI in Healthcare
Given the speed at which AI is evolving, there are plenty of predictions for how it will continue to shape the home care industry in the short, medium, and long term.
Some believe it will accelerate the industry’s evolution away from reactive care and towards a more proactive and preventive future. AI-enabled wearables and sensors will be able to predict falls, infections, or hospital readmissions before they happen, and machine learning models will analyze patterns in vitals, sleep, mobility, and speech to flag subtle declines in health.
Socially assistive AI is also poised to provide companionship and support cognitive health. Since caregivers can’t be present all the time, companions like AI avatars or robots can offer conversation, medication reminders, games, and routines to reduce cognitive decline in their absence.
Algorithms are already being used to improve the scheduling process, and further advancements will only serve to sharpen its matchmaking and optimization skills. Predictive tools will get better and better at pairing caregivers with clients based on compatibility, skill level, and location, alongside dynamic scheduling tools that reduce service gaps and inefficiencies. AI will also be able to triage urgent tasks to help care managers prioritize their assignments across their entire client roster.
AI-Driven Healthcare Solutions With AxisCare
Scheduling and managing home care services is no simple task. That’s why AxisCare is already incorporating cutting-edge technology to make the process more seamless than ever. Request a demo to learn more about what our platform can do.
