Artificial intelligence (AI) is everywhere today, including in healthcare. If you’ve heard of it, you might imagine robots roaming hospital hallways or computers making life and death decisions. But the reality is much more practical – and much more personal.
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AI is not here to replace your doctor. No chatbot or large language model (LLM) replaces expert medical care. Instead, AI gives care teams better tools to care for you, and it can make a big difference to your well-being.
We spoke with experts about some of the real ways AI is already improving healthcare and how it could help improve your care in the future.
The role of AI in healthcare
In simple terms, artificial intelligence refers to the use of computers to perform certain tasks that typically require human intelligence. It is used in healthcare (and many other industries) to enable people to work more efficiently.
This has always been the goal of new technologies. Think about it like this: if you’re traveling from New York to London, would you rather take the plane or the boat? If you need to inform your boss that you will be late for work, would you prefer to send a text message or a telegram? AI technologies are just the latest innovations that can help make things happen faster and better than before.
“AI is no longer an experiment,” says Ben Shahshahani, PhD, director of AI at the Cleveland Clinic. “This is a real, scalable tool that can support patients, providers, and health systems, improving outcomes, reducing caregiver stress, and making care more accessible and effective for everyone involved.” »
6 Ways AI Helps Improve Your Healthcare
AI is already behind the scenes in many hospitals and clinics. Here are some of the ways it can help your providers help you.
1. More reliable diagnostics
Accurately reading X-rays, MRIs, CT scans, ultrasounds and other diagnostic images makes all the difference in getting the right care. And some AI tools are trained to detect early signs of problems that might be easy to overlook, even for trained human eyes.
This is particularly useful during screenings such as mammograms, where small changes can be reported early. breast cancer. AI tools can flag areas of concern for the radiologist. These tools can also reduce the number of false positives, which means fewer unnecessary callbacks and less worry.
Your healthcare team can also use AI to:
- Interpret images to identify fractures, brain aneurysms and other problems
- Track nodules over time to detect cancer
- Report potential issues that might otherwise be overlooked
- Support diagnostic decision-making
2. Faster care in an emergency
In case of a medical emergency, such as stroke or pulmonary embolismtime is everything. Some hospitals now use AI programs that analyze images as they are taken. This means that if someone has a blocked blood vessel, the AI can report it immediately and alert the team.
“We are saving valuable time by making AI the first and fastest agent to sort these images,” says a diagnostic radiologist. Po-Hao Chen, MD. “If you find someone having a stroke, you can mobilize resources to treat them.”
AI also helps emergency teams prioritize care by:
- Sort people based on urgency
- Automatically alert the medical team
- Coordinate care behind the scenes to keep everyone in sync
“AI gives us the extra speed we need when every second counts,” emphasizes Dr. Chen.
3. Track changes in your health
AI helps healthcare providers zoom out, see the bigger picture, and make more informed treatment decisions over time.
Take pulmonary nodulesFor example. If your doctor notices a small spot on your lung during an exam, he or she may not know right away if there is cause for concern. They usually recommend regular follow-up scans to look for changes.
“Those that grow are more likely to be cancerous,” says Dr. Chen. “Those that aren’t are more likely to be benign. That’s why tracking them is so important.”
Until recently, radiologists manually measured nodules and compared the measurements to see if they changed between scans. But there may be slight variations in measurements from one radiologist to another.
With AI tools that automatically score and measure nodules, nothing can be forgotten or lost in translation.
“This makes follow-up care more consistent and helps us know when something needs further investigation,” he adds.
4. Personalization of care
AI also opens new doors to tailor treatment plans to your specific needs.
“We learned there is much more to discover with AI,” says epilepsy specialist Lara Jehi, MD.
Dr. Jehi leads research into how machine learning helps epilepsy surgeons make more informed decisions. Traditionally, doctors relied on the results of tests performed and the experience of the surgeon to decide whether they would benefit from surgery. But it was difficult to say who would respond best to which surgical technique.
Now, AI tools can analyze huge amounts of patient data – from brain scans to genetic profiles – and develop more personalized care plans based on what has worked before for similar patients.
“With AI, we get deeper insights from the same tests we’ve always used,” says Dr. Jehi. “This helps us match the right treatment to the right patient. »
5. Support research and innovation
AI isn’t just helping today’s patients. It also accelerates research that could lead to tomorrow’s breakthroughs.
“Biomedical research is evolving,” notes Dr. Jehi. “AI helps us analyze genetic data, protein interactions and more, all of which can help create new treatments faster.”
Using AI, researchers can more easily interpret large amounts of data. This can help them:
- Develop new drugs
- Understand how diseases work
- Discover biomarkers that predict disease risk or treatment success
- Personalize treatment based on a patient’s unique biology
- Combine patient data to uncover broader health trends
- Make clinical trials more efficient by identifying ideal participants and reporting early results
And that’s just a short list.
Reliable research is supposed to be deliberate. Scientists test, refine and confirm the results to ensure they are robust. But AI can help speed up the most tedious steps, turning reliable research into real-world benefits for you and your loved ones, faster than ever.
“I see AI as a way forward where no data is left behind,” shares Dr. Jehi. “The more knowledge we have, the more meaningful care we can provide. »
6. Streamlining administrative tasks
Behind every appointment is a mountain of paperwork: visit notes, prescriptions, records, scheduling and much more. AI frees up time so your healthcare team can focus on what’s important: you.
“There is a shortage of caregivers and a lot of burnout. A lot of this comes from administrative tasks,” explains Dr. Shahshahani. “AI helps reduce these burdens, freeing up time so clinicians can focus more on patients – and patients notice this difference.”
For example, AI-powered note-taking tools can now “listen” during appointments (with your permission). This means your provider doesn’t spend your valuable visit time typing in your file. They spend it connecting with you.
AI also powers virtual assistants and chatbots that handle simple tasks, such as:
- Extract your medical history faster
- Help you schedule a follow-up appointment
- Sending medication reminders
- Support virtual tours
It also plays an important role behind the scenes in costs and operations. “AI can help us automate time-consuming tasks like billing, documentation, and pre-authorization,” adds Dr. Shahshahani. “This helps us reduce costs and better allocate our resources. »
The Future of AI in Healthcare: Promise and Caution
AI has the potential to make your healthcare smarter and safer. Dr. Shahshahani believes that the biggest advances to come will come from AI-based personalized medicine and preventive care. With access to everything from genetics to smartwatch data, AI can help identify the most effective treatments and detect problems as early as possible.
“It’s not possible for humans to absorb all this information at once,” he says. “But that’s exactly what AI can do well: sift through years of data and make sense of what’s most important to each patient.”
But responsible use is important.
For example, researchers have raised the potential ethical concerns on AI and called for more responsible implementation of AI, including protecting patient privacy and promoting responsible use of data.
The World Health Organization and others have informed be careful when using large language models (a type of AI used in platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity.ai). These tools are not intended to provide medical advice and often “hallucinate,” introducing errors that could cause harm.
“These systems are not built or approved for medical use,” says Dr. Shahshahani. “They analyze public information, not your personal medical history. Always share your concerns with a doctor who can interpret the full picture and make safe, informed decisions with you.”
Your healthcare team remains – by far – the best and most trusted resource for you to get the care you deserve. But what AI does today is make it easier for your team to focus on what they do best: getting to know you, understanding you, and making smart decisions with you.