AMA Hopes To Drive Healthcare AI

Last month, the AMA adopted a new policy setting standards for its approach to the use of AI. Now, the question is how much leverage it will actually have on the use in the practice of medicine.

In its policy statement, the trade group said it would work to set standards on how AI can improve patient outcomes and physicians’ professional satisfaction. It also hopes to see that physicians get a say-so in the development, design, validation implementation of healthcare AI tools.

More specifically, the AMA said it would promote the development of well-designed, clinically-validated standards for healthcare AI, including that they:

  • Are designed and evaluated using best-practices user-centered design
  • Address bias and avoid introducing or exacerbating healthcare disparities when testing or deploying new AI tools
  • Safeguard patients’ and other individuals’ privacy and preserve security and integrity of personal information

That being said, I find myself wondering whether the AMA will have the chance to play a significant role in the evolution of AI tools. It certainly has a fair amount of competition.

It’s certainly worth noting that the organization is knee-deep in the development of digital health solutions. Its ventures include the MATTER incubator, which brings physicians and entrepreneurs together to solve healthcare problems; biotech incubator Sling Health, which is run by medical students; Health2047, which brings helps healthcare organizations and entrepreneurs work together and Xcertia, an AMA-backed non-profit which has developed a mobile health app framework.

On the other hand, the group certainly has a lot of competition for doctors’ attention. Over the last year or two, the use of AI in healthcare has gone from a nifty idea to a practical one, and many health systems are deploying platforms that integrate AI features. These platforms include tools helping doctors collaborate with care teams, avoid errors and identify oncoming crises within the patient population.

If you’re wondering why I’m bringing all this up, here’s why. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t bother to discuss an AMA policy statement — some of them are less interesting than watching grass grow — but in this case, it’s worth thinking about for a bit.

When you look at the big picture, it matters who drive the train when it comes to healthcare AI. If physicians take the lead, as the AMA would obviously prefer, we may be able to avoid the deployment of user-hostile platforms like many of the first-generation EHRs.

If hospitals end up dictating how physicians use AI technology, it might mean that we see another round of kludgy interfaces, lousy decision-support options and time-consuming documentation extras which will give physicians an unwanted feeling of deja-vu. Not to mention doctors who refuse to use it and try to upend efforts to use AI in healthcare.

Of course, some hospitals will have learned from their mistakes, but I’m guessing that many may not, and things could go downhill from there. Regardless, let’s hope that AI tools don’t become the next albatross hung around doctors’ necks.

About the author

Anne Zieger

Anne Zieger is a healthcare journalist who has written about the industry for 30 years. Her work has appeared in all of the leading healthcare industry publications, and she's served as editor in chief of several healthcare B2B sites.

   

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