The Benefits of AI in Health Care

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a broad term—it is a concept, a technology, and a field of study. Most of us know it as technology—the capability of a machine (usually a computer) to imitate human behavior or perform tasks that usually require human intelligence to carry out. AI is making its way into many aspects of our lives, including health care. As of mid-2024, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved nearly 900 medical devices that use some degree of AI.

From voice-activated smart assistants and medication management systems to devices that can provide automatic notifications for falls, medical emergencies, or wandering, AI-enabled technology can help older adults stay independent longer. AI can also be used within existing technologies such as electronic health records, to analyze data, suggest diagnoses, support decision making, and recommend treatment plans.

AI has been successfully applied to medical imaging and interpretation, often with high accuracy and the ability to detect abnormalities that human experts may miss. It has even been tested with online messaging systems and, remarkably enough, studies show that patients were more satisfied with computer-generated answers than physician-generated responses.

Clearly, AI is a powerful tool with many benefits, but, like many advancements, it comes with risk. One great concern is that clinicians may overly rely on computers to replace their clinical judgment (called automation bias). This overreliance can lead to a loss of clinical skills and the adoption of errors or misdiagnoses that the clinician otherwise would not have made. Finally, we don’t know if computers can replace the human element of the doctor-patient relationship, especially when dealing with complicated ethics and patient preferences.

Now, an AI-generated answer is often the first thing you see when searching for information online, and it can be inaccurate or misleading. In fact, a recent poll by the University of Michigan showed that 74% of people over age 50 who look for health information online have little or no trust in the information if it’s generated by AI. In addition, the poll showed that 20% of older adults have little or no confidence that they could spot misinformation about a health topic if they came across it. So, before acting on any information you receive online, please ask your doctor for their opinion.

AI is also integrated into wearable devices that give you information about health-related behaviors like exercise, sleep quality, and even heart readings. Be cautious about making changes based on a device’s feedback, though, because studies show that devices can misinterpret a poor night’s sleep as a good one, overcount or undercount daily steps, misrepresent exercise effort, and more.

These are very exciting times, as medical care will improve with the application of AI  but have a conversation with your doctor about the information you access from your smartphone or computer. Understanding your well-being and making decisions requires a holistic approach—considering all data in the context of your personal situation, needs, and preferences.

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