Innovation doesn’t come all at once. It is often incremental, where one good idea builds on another. Once people see a new technology in practice, they can develop new approaches with that technology that can improve it.
In the world of healthcare, it can be hard to innovate at times. There are huge amounts of data, and any disruptions can possibly impact patients. It can be difficult to implement even an initial change in technology, let alone continual improvements. But taking the leap can make a huge difference when it comes to patient care.
AI in healthcare
Artificial intelligence (AI) is one of these innovations in which developers strive to continuously improve it. In the world of healthcare, AI is already being used in a number of ways to improve patient care. Because of the speed at which it can process images compared to what a human can do, it is used to help identify any abnormalities in scans to help ensure diagnoses are accurate. The information gathered by AI can help predict the possibility of someone developing an illness, and the technology is also used to help speed the process of drug development, cutting down the time it takes to determine whether a molecule’s chemical structure can fight certain bacteria.
Improving upon AI
One potential hiccup using AI, though, is the fact that some healthcare data is coded. AI is designed to gather information, not necessarily interpret it. This is one of those instances, though, where not only are developers working to make AI better, but healthcare workers see a potential way to make AI work better in their industry.
Researchers are testing a system that can take this coded data and turn it into the kinds of notes a doctor might make about a patient. The researchers recently published their study, which used data gathered from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston and the UCLA Health medical system in Los Angeles. The technology could save time for those working in emergency departments, which would then allow them to focus more on patients, and possibly even, using the AI, develop better treatment possibilities.
Using data to maximum potential
The work described in this research is indicative of the fact that data can make a huge difference in healthcare, but only if the people working with the data have a plan for how to use it. This should be happening from the very beginning of an implementation, with representatives of all stakeholders being involved in the process to ensure that an analytics solution can meet all of the needs of the healthcare system.
The right solution should have the capacity to address a specific issue, but it should also have the flexibility that allows users to shift their focus to other areas where needs arise. It also needs to be able to handle data from any number of sources within a healthcare system, integrating all of the information to produce comprehensive reports from which decisions could be made. If used correctly, data can help healthcare professionals improve efficiencies in everything from patient care to space usage to finances.
Innovative use of AI is something every healthcare organization can aspire to, but not the kind of technology that is accessible to everyone. The one thing that all healthcare organizations of any size do have access to is a plethora of data. For most organizations, the best kind of innovation might just be how best to use that data to find opportunities for improvement in one aspect of patient care. And then, once that aspect is addressed, being innovative with the data once more to address another. In order to maintain that cycle, organizations need to make sure they are using the best analytics solution to continue producing positive results for their patients.
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