In Healthcare, an AI Pause Isn’t Feasible. But, an AI Strategy Is.
Global Call for AI Pause Stirs Debate in Healthcare Industry
Recently, The Future of Life institute published a letter calling for a “pause” on development of major generative AI projects. Co-signed by some of the largest names in technology – and the world – like Elon Musk, Steve Wozniak and more, the letter has received a dramatic amount of attention. As an organization fixated on the strategic advancement of AI in healthcare, this letter also generated quite a bit of conversation among our teams. Our consensus, in short, is that while AI continues to draw attention from every corner of the globe, halting or slowing AI implementation in healthcare simply isn’t possible. Not when the stakes are so high, and the need is so great.
Challenges Make AI Adoption in Healthcare an Urgent Priority
Strained healthcare organizations face a slew of challenges, from provider shortages to shrinking reimbursement to growing demands for personalized care. Under the weight of these burdens, healthcare leaders may, in fact, want to pause and take stock of the current AI landscape, But it’s but it is because of these challenges that healthcare organizations must continue to prioritize AI adoption.
Clinical AI: A Powerful Tool to Enhance Healthcare Delivery
Since it can parse through data and quickly propose a solution to a problem or provide more complete insights to a care team, clinical AI has the potential to amplify healthcare’s existing resources and extend the reach of care, all while reducing the burden placed on care teams. Far from replacing a doctor’s experience, clinical AI is purpose-built to augment their abilities and arm them with better data and tools to do their jobs faster and more efficiently and accurately. For all these reasons and more, AI has already taken flight in healthcare, such as algorithms finding MRI anomalies that humans have trouble detecting, or models identifying patients at a higher –risk for chronic conditions, helping doctors to stop disease before it even starts.
Strategic AI Adoption: A Must for Success in Healthcare Organizations
For healthcare, an industry that has just started uncovering the opportunities of AI, a pause in development or implementation isn’t feasible. What is feasible, however, is for healthcare organizations to take stock of their AI strategy to ensure that they are adopting these tools in a responsible and forward-looking manner.
A thoughtful, holistic AI strategy will enable healthcare leaders to have more visibility around where AI is being used within their organizations and what care or operational gaps would be easily addressed by an AI model. A strategic approach promotes more thoughtful implementation and brings better transparency to the model creation process, which can help uncover biases and ensure model accuracy. Finally, an AI strategy will help leaders set specific goals and measurement criteria for new AI tools. Organizations that understand whether an AI solution is delivering on its promised benefits are better able to understand the usefulness and ROI of an AI investment and can set their program up for long-term success by ensuring they are using effective AI models.
The facts are clear: healthcare AI is already driving life-changing care decisions – there can be no pause when lives are at stake. The alternatives (slowing AI adoption, halting altogether or continuing with an ad-hoc implementation approach) will only serve to put healthcare organizations further behind. Savvy healthcare leaders understand that the best way forward with AI is strategic and steadfast, enabling them to get a better handle on the new opportunities this technology provides, without missing out on game-changing care improvements or operational transformation.
