AI and Medicine
Increased efficiency: AI can help healthcare providers manage their time more effectively and streamline administrative tasks. For example, chatbots can handle routine inquiries and appointment scheduling, freeing up doctors' time to focus on more complex patient needs. This directly benefits patients as those who need doctor-patient consultation will be able to have more time and attention paid to them (Wang, 2020). Improved patient access: AI can help increase patient access to healthcare by enabling remote consultations, telemedicine, and other virtual care options. This can be particularly beneficial for patients who live in remote or underserved areas, or who have mobility issues that make it difficult to visit a doctor's office. Or put in other terms, allowing expertise that is concentrated elsewhere to be accessible anywhere. In general, as discussed above, whilst AI has the potential to transform doctor-patient interactions in many positive ways, we must also register the potential negative effects of automation on healthcare. Many vulnerable individuals rely on their healthcare providers and can build trust in the relationship through interpersonal interactions. By potentially minimizing these interactions, there may be an erosion in the way the trust is built between patient and doctor, and this may negatively impact the patient experience and perhaps worse still their health, Thus, it is important to ensure that AI is used ethically and in a way that preserves the important relationship between doctors and their patients.
Impact of AI on the healthcare workforce
AI could significantly impact the healthcare workforce, both in terms of job roles and required skills. While AI is still in the early stages of development in healthcare, its potential to automate tasks and improve decision-making could reshape the healthcare industry. While much of this impact is positive, there are potential negative consequences of such technology that must also be considered. Automation of tasks: AI has the potential to automate many routine tasks that are currently performed by healthcare professionals, such as administrative tasks, documentation, and data analysis. This could free up time for healthcare workers to focus on more complex tasks that require human expertise (Kulikowski, 2019). Speaking to an honorary consultant, it was clear that many hours of his workday are spent on non-clinical administrative tasks that do not make efficient use of his time. Augmentation of human capabilities: AI can also be used to augment the capabilities of healthcare professionals. For example, AI-powered tools can help doctors treat diseases more accurately and quickly, and assist surgeons in performing complex procedures. This in particular is not a hugely well- researched aspect of AI and is not where the majority of focus lies. However, with the integration of AI into various aspects of clinical work, it is not inconceivable that AI could become a part of surgical practice as well as its role in imaging and diagnosis (Weiss, 2021). New job roles: The development and deployment of AI in healthcare is likely to create new job roles, such as AI specialists, data scientists, and machine learning engineers. These roles will require specialized knowledge and skills and may require healthcare professionals to upskill or reskill. Changes in training and education: As AI becomes more prevalent in healthcare, training and education programs for healthcare professionals will likely need to be updated to include AI-related knowledge and skills. That being said, it is important that in areas such as sonography for example, as
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