Adoption of Artificial Intelligence for Resilient Health Care Services
Research centric by Rajesh Kumar Singh, Professor at MDI Gurgaon
Globally, the healthcare industry is facing enormous challenges due to a growing population and scarce resources. In the health care industry, timely delivery of all goods and services is crucial since patient lives are at stake. Therefore, compared to other supply chains, the healthcare supply chain (HSC) is far more complex since it involves people and is heavily influenced by the customization of precise medicine supplies based on the needs of specific patients. During COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare system across the world faced many disruptions. During this period, the Indian healthcare industry also saw numerous disruptions in delivering reliable and timely services to patients.
The third Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of the United Nations i.e. "Affordable healthcare access for all," appears to be extremely difficult given the growing population and inadequate infrastructure. The issues facing the healthcare sector in emerging countries like India include a shortage of competent healthcare personnel, an abrupt increase in the demand for pharmaceuticals, and a lack of resources and expertise to manage disruptions. It has been noted that data-driven innovations built on cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), contribute to the resilience and flexibility of healthcare processes.
The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare brings up a number of moral and societal concerns, such as accountability for the decisions and mistakes made by AI systems. Healthcare data security and privacy present significant challenges as well. The use of AI technology is threatened by the rise of cyberthreats. There are other concerns also such as poor data quality, moral dilemmas, inadequate regulations, and a lack of medical compre- hension of AI-based systems.
In developing nations like India, where access to healthcare is skewed toward the urban population and the doctor-patient ratio is low, artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to be a game-changer. For example, in 2023, Tata Memorial Hospital in India, in partnership with the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B), initiated the Bioimaging bank. Through a simple click, medical professionals will have the capability to evaluate the firmness, consistency, and suppleness of tumors, as well as obtain insights into the probability of a patient's survival and their receptiveness to chemotherapy. Mumbai's Tata Memorial Hospital, the largest cancer hospital in India, has embarked on a groundbreaking venture by leveraging deep learning to educate Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the early detection of cancer.
According to physicians, this diagnostic tool will also aid in preventing unnecessary chemotherapy for those predicted to be non-responders. AI is primarily seen to be most appropriate for repetitive tasks like data entry, CT scans, X-rays, etc. Additionally, the digital nurse is intended for patient condition monitoring and follow-up, and its 24/7 accessibility and prompt medication responses are considered its greatest benefits. For example, EliseAI a company based in New York focuses on providing conversational AI solutions. Within the healthcare industry. EliseAI provides technology powered by AI, which is capable of automating tasks such as appointment scheduling and sending payment reminders. The AI capabilities of EliseAI enable patient engagement through SMS, voice, email, and web chat formats.
AI technology is thought to improve clinical decision-making, automate tedious procedures, reduce errors, and maximize the use of healthcare resources. AI applications can aid in bringing healthcare to India's distant locations, particularly in the fields of diagnostics and preventive care. For example, Columbia Asia Hospitals, located in Bengaluru, prides itself on being a top hospital, with expertise in critical care medicine and bariatric surgery. Using AI technology, the hospital streamlines processes, enabling physicians to accurately document all discussions between doctors and patients, giving insight into patterns. Additionally, the predictive analysis feature assists in identifying illnesses early and supporting the treatment of severe conditions. By offering effective diagnosis and treatment plans and ensuring improved administration of an already resource-scarce sector, this could address the physician shortage. In order to increase public trust and acceptance of AI systems, awareness campaigns and training are needed.
Health finance can use AI tools to analyze healthcare plans in a subsidized way in order to maximize benefits and guarantee transparency. The AI models can comprehend intricate biological interconnections and patterns of disease. For example, DeepMind, a company, has utilized artificial intelligence to create a novel medication for Alzheimer's disease, which is currently undergoing clinical trials. A Massachusetts-based company called Atomwise utilizes artificial intelligence to address severe illnesses such as Ebola and multiple sclerosis. Atomwise's neural network, AtomNet, aids in forecasting bioactivity and recognizing patient attributes for clinical trials. The company's AI technology examines 10 to 20 million genetic compounds daily and can allegedly produce results 100 times more rapidly than conventional pharmaceutical firms. During the COVID19 pandemic, Victoria Hospital in Bengaluru deployed robots to deliver medications and meals to patients, reducing the potential exposure of doctors, nurses, and housekeeping staff. This represents a commendable application of technology in the fight against the coronavirus. Since intelligence and accuracy are so important to the healthcare system, using AI technology helps to solve a number of issues. Additionally, it has been discovered that AI is extensively utilized in radiology and medical data administration. In spite of so many benefits and applications, for the successful application of AI systems for resilient healthcare services, careful regulation and policies are required.
