This summer Bertalan Meskó, MD, PhD posted 10 ways that AI (Artificial Intelligence) could make him a better doctor. Here are his 10 ways:
1) Eradicate waiting time
2) Prioritize my emails
3) Find me the information I need
4) Keep me up-to-date
5) Work when I don’t
6) Help me make hard decisions rational
7) Help patients with urgent matters reach me
8) Help me improve over time
9) Help me collaborate more
10) Do administrative work
This is a great list of ways that AI can make doctors better. No doubt there are even more ways that we’ll discover as AI continues to improve. However, I love this list because it looks at AI from the appropriate point of reference. AI is going to be something that improves the doctor, not replaces the doctor.
I know that many people have talked about how technology is going to replace the doctor. The most famous of which is Vinod Khosla. However, you have to remember that Vinod is an investor and so he needs to drum up companies with ambitious visions. I believe his statement was as much about finding companies that will push the bounds of healthcare as much as it was his prediction for the future of healthcare. However, it no doubt created a lot of fear for doctors.
The reality is that some aspects of what a doctor does will be replaced by technology, but as the list above illustrates, that can be a very good thing for doctors.
AI is coming to healthcare. In some ways, it’s already here. However, the AI that’s coming today isn’t about replacing the doctor, it’s about making the doctor better. Honestly, any doctor that can’t embrace this idea is a doctor that shouldn’t have a medical license.
Should doctors be cautious in how quickly they adopt the technology and should they take the time to make sure that the AI won’t have adverse impacts on their patients? Absolutely. However, there’s a tipping point where not using AI is going to be much more damaging to patients than the risks that are likely to make headlines and scare many. Doctors need to be more driven by what’s best for their patients than fear inducing headlines.
AI will make doctors lives better in a wide variety of ways. It won’t replace the doctor but will enhance the doctor. That’s exciting!