How is AI improving healthcare?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is poised to revolutionise the healthcare sector by enhancing efficiency, alleviating staff workloads, and improving patient outcomes. As healthcare organizations worldwide grapple with increasing demands and resource constraints, AI offers promising solutions to these challenges.

Healthcare systems worldwide face significant strain from rising patient numbers, workforce shortages, and outdated infrastructure. In the UK, the NHS struggles with funding constraints, staffing shortages, and old technology. The Institute for Fiscal Studies reports a 1.2% real-terms cut in health spending, despite rising costs and demands.

These issues impact staff and patients alike, with healthcare professionals facing burnout and patients experiencing longer wait times. The NHS Confederation warns that without addressing the financial deficit, further cuts to staffing and patient care services are inevitable.

In 2024, AI's impact on healthcare became more evident, especially in process automation and enhanced diagnostics. The Radiological Society of North America also reported AI could safely reduce a third of radiologists' mammography workload.

The World Health Organization's 2024 report underscored AI's role in supporting healthcare workers and revolutionizing workflows. Similarly, the National Institute for Health and Care Research emphasized AI's importance for faster diagnoses, disease prediction, treatment support, and hospital resource management.

AI integration in healthcare can be divided into three main areas:

• Diagnosis: AI algorithms can analyze medical images and patient data to detect diseases earlier and more accurately.
• Patient Experience: AI tools personalize patient interactions, offer virtual assistance, and facilitate appointment scheduling, enhancing engagement and satisfaction.
• Staff and Administration: AI automates routine tasks, optimizes resource allocation, and reduces staff workload, allowing more focus on patient care.

The patient experience 

The average general practitioner (GP) in the UK is responsible for 2,258 patients, according to the British Medical Association (BMA). This is an increase of 17% since 2015. With nearly 40,000 GPs in the country (38,680), that’s a huge number of individual appointments and follow-ups. 

Ensuring seamless communication between patients and healthcare providers globally is a complex task. Additionally, there are challenges with patient engagement and treatment adherence, especially when patients do not complete their prescribed courses or miss follow-up appointments. Innovative solutions are needed to address these issues effectively.

There’s also the issue of engagement and non-compliance, in which patients who are prescribed, say, courses of treatment do not see them through to the end, or do not return for repeat appointments.

“Messaging alerts and relevant, targeted content that provoke actions at moments that matter” is a promising area in which AI could lead to increased patient engagement, according to a paper from the US National Library of Medicine (NLM).

While this can be helpful and promote a positive discussion between doctor and patient, it could also place strain on the dynamic if “the physician feels threatened or if families do not accept the current limitations of these tools.”

The employee factor

Staff experience is equally important as patient experience because they are interconnected. When staff have effective tools to perform their job, it results in a smoother patient experience when interacting with healthcare organizations. 

Recent developments in the National Health Service (NHS) have underscored the importance of integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support healthcare professionals and improve service delivery.

NHS Trusts are increasingly focused on digital transformation to improve not only patient care but also the staff experience. According to a recent survey, trust boards are more engaged with the digital agenda, recognizing its potential to enhance staff productivity and overall experience. For example, many trusts are prioritizing the implementation of Electronic Patient Records (EPRs) and investing in IT infrastructure to support frontline digitization. Moreover, there's a growing emphasis on upskilling staff through digital literacy training to ensure they can effectively use these new tools. 

By leveraging digital solutions, NHS trusts aim to reduce administrative burdens and improve efficiency, ultimately enabling staff to focus more on patient care.

Many staff are craving these tools. In the NHS, a survey from Virgin Media O2 Business found that three in five IT Decision Makers (ITDMs) believe new digital tools could help the UK health service reach between three percent and five percent more patients (or at least 18.6 million more patients). 

Building on AI advancements, the NHS is now rolling out a nationwide AI tool designed to proactively predict patient risks.  This new AI is capable of predicting patient falls with 97% accuracy and can also detect early symptoms of winter illnesses.  By continuously monitoring vital signs recorded by carers, the AI alerts healthcare staff to intervene promptly.  This proactive approach aims to keep more patients safe at home, prevent unnecessary hospital admissions, and ensure timely care for vulnerable individuals. 

As NHS Director of Transformation, Dr Vin Diwakar, stated, “This AI tool is a perfect example of how the NHS can use the latest tech to keep more patients safe at home and out of hospital." 

AI is being considered as a solution to reduce pressures in UK Accident and Emergency (A&E) centers, particularly for ambulance services and frontline staff. A&E departments across the UK are experiencing significant strain, with recent data from NHS Digital showing that A&E attendances in England for the financial year 2023-24 reached 26.3 million, an increase of 3.8% compared to the previous year. 

This translates to an average of about 2.2 million A&E attendances per month, indicating a high workload. AI tools are being explored to help paramedics and A&E staff manage this demand more effectively.

For example, a pioneering AI technology designed to speed up patient care through improved assessment in the emergency department is currently being trialled at the Royal London Hospital. This innovative tool, developed by Belgian company Bingli, aims to streamline the assessment process, enabling quicker diagnostic planning and diagnoses, thereby improving patient outcomes and reducing ED waiting times.

Such tools can save numerous ambulance trips and countless hours for medical staff, allowing resources to be better utilized where needed in the healthcare system.

Diagnosis and treatment 

One of the most noteworthy advancements that artificial intelligence is contributing to healthcare is its capacity to diagnose and even treat diseases. Large language models (LLMs) are being trained to analyze a wide range of patient characteristics to make informed assessments regarding health.

Take Imagene, an Israeli AI firm that has just developed a foundation model in partnership with Oracle, designed to facilitate research and development in the pathology and oncology space. 

The firm’s tool is dubbed CanvOI and has learned to capture “the complex features and patterns within biopsy images,” thus providing vital information to researchers and healthcare professionals looking to tackle cancer.

Wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD) - which leads to loss of central vision - can also be tackled using AI tools according to the NIHR, with the technology useful for shortening the amount of time needed to analyze scans. 

A combination of the AI model and clinical experts were brought together to predict whether patients with wet AMD in one eye would develop it in their second eye (a common eventuality) within six months of the scan.

“AI correctly predicted the development of wet AMD in two in five (41%) patients. It out-performed 5 out of 6 experts,” the NIHR said. 

Ultimately, AI can - and is - improving healthcare in almost every way imaginable, from the less flashy administrative tasks to the groundbreaking advancements in disease prediction and diagnosis. 

Healthcare professionals must be careful with how they incorporate AI into their workflows, but they also mustn’t shy away from it - AI has revolutionary potential in the healthcare industry. 

AI is enhancing healthcare in various ways, from administrative tasks to advancements in disease prediction and diagnosis. Healthcare professionals need to carefully integrate AI into their workflows, recognizing its significant potential in the industry.