Using AI in Healthcare is a Great Prescription for Healthcare Workers and Administrators, Though It Comes With Side Effects
Nearly half of healthcare workers embrace AI technology despite concerns about its implementation challenges and workforce disruption
This story was produced through MarketScale. See how Healthcare teams put it to work with Executive Thought Leadership.
Key takeaways
Nearly half of healthcare workers embrace AI technology despite concerns about its implementation challenges and workforce disruption
Free workspace
Turn your Healthcare expertise into content.
Record interviews, organize footage, and write with AI on a free trial of the MarketScale platform for qualifying companies. No demo required, no credit card.
Patient care is getting a major upgrade, thanks to the integration of AI in healthcare. While many are still a little wary of this emerging technology, almost 50% of healthcare workers are on board, according to a recent study by GlobalData, which was designed to survey the current AI utilization in eight major pharmaceutical markets, including the US, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK, Japan, and China. The report indicates that the most popular uses of AI in healthcare are in supporting diagnostics and designing treatment plans.
The most popular uses of AI in healthcare are in supporting diagnostics and designing treatment plans.
This tech doesn't just streamline administrative work and improve diagnostics, it also enables more personalized and equitable care. AI's potential to effectively identify patients living in challenging environments, such as food deserts or areas with poor air quality, is a game-changer, helping healthcare providers to tailor treatment plans to individual needs. AI is also a lifesaver for healthcare workers who are feeling increasingly burnt out from all the stress. But, it's not all smooth sailing. There are unique challenges with AI, like potential biases and the need to double-check AI's work. That's where health administrators come in, steering the ship through these tricky waters.
Joyvina Evans, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Health Management at Howard University, gives her analysis of why AI solutions can prove to be a multi-faceted solution across the care ecosystem if implemented correctly.
Evans' Thoughts:
"AI can be used to flag electronic medical records and health records to share information regarding those patients who live in a food desert where they do not have access to grocery stores or fresh fruits and vegetables. From my perspective, there's an increased level of eagerness to embrace artificial intelligence or AI in healthcare.
A priority of the United States Surgeon General is health worker burnout. As it stands today, the complexities of the U.S. healthcare system has led to more than half of health workers reporting symptoms of burnout, including loss of sleep, lack of appetite, anxious thoughts, and depression. This is where AI can become extremely helpful.
AI has the ability to decrease mundane administrative tasks. It can help measure administrative burdens, assess task and workflow, and it can automate components of the healthcare system.
— Joyvina Evans, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Health Management at Howard University
AI has the ability to decrease mundane administrative tasks. It can help measure administrative burdens, assess task and workflow, and it can automate components of the healthcare system. All of this can improve speed and accuracy within the healthcare system and improve efficiency and reduce burnout amongst healthcare workers.
While there are flaws with using AI, as well as any technology, it is important to note that health administrators are in a very unique position to work with providers to determine inequities that can result from patients' socioeconomic status and determinants of health. For instance, AI can be used to flag electronic medical records and health records to share information regarding those patients who live in a food desert where they do not have access to grocery stores or fresh fruits and vegetables. AI can also be used to flag the systems so that it determines and it can share information regarding poor air quality and environmental hazards. Decreasing bias and racism, along with leveraging this information, can all lead to more equitable and customized treatment plans and services, thus resulting in improved health outcomes of patients as well as the public as a whole."
Your experts belong here
Every story in MarketScale Healthcare starts with a company putting its clinicians, service-line leaders, and field engineers on the record. Buyers are already reading this topic. The only question is whose experts they find.
Service-line buyers vet vendors quietly, and your clinicians become the proof they find while doing it.
About the author
After an extensive career working in research, Dr. Evans transitioned into higher education. She has worked as a subject matter expert on course developments, professor, and in leadership positions within undergraduate/graduate healthcare administration and public health programs. She holds an extensive background in online education and has experience with online platforms including Blackboard Ultra, Moodle, Brightspace, and Canvas. Dr. Evans has presented at numerous conferences, such as conferences hosted by the following organizations/institutions: Harvard University T.H. Chan School of Public Health, University of Georgia-ENGAGE, LaRoche University, Asian University for Women, Adult Higher Education Alliance, and Competency-Based Education. Dr. Evans research interests include women's health, reproductive health, health disparities, and health equity. She is a participant in the Society of Transnational Academic Researchers (STAR) Network and currently completing the Certified Research Scholar Training.
