Artificial intelligence (AI) is fuelling rapid transformation across healthcare, from drug development to patient care. However, many patients remain concerned about how this new technology will impact their care.
Research shows that 60% of Americans would be concerned if their provider relied on AI to diagnose them. The majority also worried about the impact it would have on the patient-provider relationship.
So, how can providers balance AI’s vast potential to accelerate healthcare capabilities with the need to retain patient trust and confidence? The answer lies in a people-centred approach.
AI-powered healthcare to benefit patients and businesses
A people-centred approach keeps the focus of any strategy, decision or design on the humans involved. In healthcare, prioritising patients in every technological advancement is crucial for providers to deliver the highest quality and most effective care.
Of course, patients benefit from this approach. Those using patient-centric models are less likely to switch providers and often have fewer visits with physicians. Critically, patients feel more empowered to take charge of their own health.
Meanwhile, this approach also benefits businesses. Research shows that human-centred organisations are ten times as likely to achieve revenue growth rates of 20% or more.
However, in any people-centred AI adoption, we must also consider healthcare professionals who use the technology to guide decisions and develop care plans. From this perspective, AI becomes a tool to empower providers and patients alike.
Empowering health professionals with AI
Globally, healthcare workforces are under pressure. In the UK’s NHS, only a third of staff feel there are enough staff to do their jobs properly. Practitioners must often juggle patient care and treatment with manual tasks such as appointment scheduling and registration.
However, AI provides an opportunity to ease this burden by automating administrative tasks that can take up to 70% of a healthcare practitioner’s time. Studies have suggested that AI could automate as much as 44% of administrative work in UK general practices.
By freeing up practitioners in this way, there is an opportunity to spend more time speaking with patients, providing valuable human interaction, empathy and expertise. It allows providers to refocus on the most important aspects of their work.
AI can also support practitioners by analysing medical imaging to identify and diagnose certain diseases, including some forms of cancer. Beyond diagnosis, emerging technology is also supporting clinicians in hospitals by leveraging electronic health data and remote monitoring to predict emergencies and alert them to potential concerns.
Critically, implementing these AI capabilities does not replace the work or responsibility of health professionals. Instead, people and technology collaborate effectively, with AI highlighting potential concerns that clinicians can investigate further. Just as with X-ray machines, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners and other technologies, AI serves as a valuable tool that enables healthcare providers to make more informed decisions. Designed carefully, AI tools can complement the skills, experience and knowledge of practitioners to improve patient outcomes.
By positioning the healthcare professional as the decision-maker and AI as a supportive tool, patients can recieve effective, personalised healthcare that anticipates their needs while allowing for expert, human-led guidance. With more time freed up by automation, practitioners can focus on improving the patient-provider relationship.
Engaging patients in their well-being
At home, digital tools increasingly empower patients to take an active role in their own well-being. Accelerated by the pandemic, there has been a growing demand for wearable devices, virtual consultations and at-home diagnostic technologies, many of which provide users real-time insight into their health. Such technology provides tangible feedback, which can encourage and motivate patients to adhere to treatment plans.
This real-time data can be leveraged by AI-powered apps and algorithms, allowing patients to gain a better understanding of their health and become more informed, often empowered by medical expertise integrated into these apps.
However, this technology must be seen not as an end solution, but rather as a valuable tool for informing decisions and sharing data with health providers. By leveraging this technology, healthcare providers can deliver more personalised care based on unique patient insights, leading to better outcomes, more effective treatments and an improved healthcare experience.
The human touch in AI-enhanced healthcare
AI has the potential to impact the role of health professionals by automating several tasks and enabling patients to take an active role in managing their own health.
However, keeping a ‘human in the loop’ remains critical in all industries, especially in healthcare. In response, the role of healthcare practitioners can evolve, emphasising the human element of care. Patients look to healthcare workers for more than diagnoses; they value empathy, understanding and care.
With this approach, AI and healthcare professionals become collaborators; technology handles manual tasks, allowing clinicians more time to nurture relationships with patients, providing the confidence of a caring expert while being supported by innovative tools. Rather than distancing patients from their providers, AI can remove barriers, creating more space and time for essential human interactions.
AI is poised to revolutionise the healthcare industry. However, when combined with a people-centred approach, this technology can give healthcare professionals more time to provide the essential human touch that is critical to any effective healthcare.
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