How AI is helping doctors reinvent healthcare

By delivering consultation on video, doctors are able to address the healthcare challenges that the country faces, points out Ayush Mishra, Founder, and CEO, Tattvan E-clinics

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is harnessing the power of science and technology and human intelligence uniquely, making daily life easier than one could have ever imagined. According to a PwC study, AI is expected to boost global GDP by 14 per cent by 2030.

Over the years, technology has dramatically transformed the global healthcare industry. Technology, that began as a rescue from mundane tasks by automating them and reduced the reams of paper by digitising health records, is now revolutionising the healthcare system. From a tool that completely focused on improving back-office productivity, it has become an enabler to improve healthcare outcomes. The ability of AI to predict, comprehend, learn, and act, all in limited time, is driving the reinvention of modern healthcare. Moreover, it facilitates better data-driven decisions, increased disease diagnosis efficiency, and enhanced patient care by supporting medical functions. According to the American Cancer Society, AI is enabling the review of mammograms 30 times faster with 99 per cent accuracy, which has reduced the need for unnecessary biopsies.

Healthcare innovations are inevitable

The global healthcare industry faces three pivotal challenges: how to deliver better healthcare outcomes, make healthcare more affordable, and improve the experience of patients and providers. Additionally, the challenges of growing instances of complex health conditions and changing demographics continue to heighten the worry. For instance, according to WHO statistics, there will be about 1.2 billion people over the age of 60 years in 2025 and 2 billion by 2050. Even as healthcare improves, our country faces a problem of paucity. People in rural areas lack the civilian infrastructure necessary for a good standard of living. Adding more to India’s stretched healthcare network, there is one doctor for every 1,445 people (according to government’s data), whereas WHO recommends one doctor for 1,000 people.

Technology is helping the struggling healthcare network of developing nations including that of India, to effectively fight against the vast imbalances in healthcare distribution, lack of medical specialists and affordability of treatments. With the onset of technology in healthcare, especially telemedicine, the healthcare gap between rural India and urban India is beginning to narrow down as people in rural areas now have access to specialist doctors and advanced medical facilities. By delivering consultation on video, doctors are able to address the healthcare challenges that the country faces. The well-developed digital infrastructure in the country is a great relief to its developing medical infrastructure as trained medical specialists living in large cities treat those living in thousands of villages across India using telemedicine.

Reinventing healthcare

The treatment and prevention of complex diseases often depend on the timely detection of the symptoms. In many cases, it is found that early diagnosis can result in complete cure whereas delayed diagnosis can worsen the condition, often giving fatal results. AI algorithms can quickly ingest millions of samples in a short time, helping in the early detection of diseases. As the healthcare system gradually moves towards advanced medical solutions using AI and robotics, to diagnose and treat patients for immediate health concerns, healthcare is expected to be largely collaborative and preventative in future. With medical professionals embracing a greater use of technology, a pool of new capabilities, including robot-assisted diagnostics, tele-surgery, chatbot design and deep learning will be the hot jobs of the future.

Moreover, the global telemedicine market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 17.85 per cent, rising to $80.61 billion by 2024. Considering the present scenario when technology driven healthcare systems are expanding at a swift pace, we might welcome a new age of medical technology soon.

Summing it all up

Technology has made medical assistance convenient for both patients and practitioners. The ability to handle minor medical issues virtually with doctor’ care and delivering immediate healthcare facilities to people residing in remotest parts of the country is reinventing how we think of healthcare. With technology helping to remove the drawbacks of the healthcare system and make it more efficient, the sector continues to evolve and deliver unprecedented realities.