AI’s transformational potential is ‘an opportunity health care can’t afford to miss’

While artificial intelligence is not new to health care, the current inflection point is an opportunity the health care sector cannot afford to miss, a panel of experts told hospital leaders April 14. Success, however, will hinge on the field’s ability to stem feelings of fear and mistrust that could arise.

“We've got to build trust and understanding and competency around AI with our patients, with our clinicians, with our leaders, if we're going to be successful, and so that's a lot of work,” said Michael Schlosser, M.D., HCA Healthcare’s senior vice president for care transformation and innovation.

Schlosser predicted that within a year the field will have successfully addressed a number of current challenges to deliver AI-supported-and-assisted solutions to routine health care functions, like scheduling.

AI, noted Troy Tazbaz, director of the Digital Health Center of Excellence for the Food and Drug Administration, has “evolutionary” potential in administrative areas that contribute to provider burnout. But the risk, he said, must be thoughtfully considered at the point of implementation.

“How we've been thinking about this thing from the government is really everything is about risks,” Tazbaz said. “We look at the risks associated to the types of devices or technologies that are coming in. And we ask the question, ‘do we actually have the infrastructure to be able to deal with those risks?’”