AI's Double-Edged Sword: Can It Really Cure the Maladies of Healthcare?

The healthcare industry has been touting artificial intelligence (AI) as a panacea for its numerous woes. However, some experts are cautioning that AI might not be the silver bullet it's made out to be. In reality, AI could exacerbate existing problems or create new ones if not carefully integrated into the healthcare ecosystem. The electronic health record (EHR) is a prime example of how technology can both improve and worsen healthcare outcomes. While EHRs digitized patient records and eliminated the need for handwritten notes, they also created a "fragmentation problem" by scattering health data in various places and formats. This chaos has led to doctors spending more time navigating complex databases than attending to patients.Dr. Pete Clardy, a pulmonologist and critical care physician, joined a panel of medical experts at Newsweek's Global Headquarters in New York City to discuss the role of AI in healthcare. According to Clardy, two main reasons why doctors might resist new technology are the risk involved in using untested systems and the preciousness of their time. "Physicians' time and attention live on razor-thin margins," he emphasized. "Anything that breaks a workflow is going to be resisted, even if it might lead to a better workflow. " The experts also noted that EHRs and AI systems often think differently from doctors. Medical records are organized by data type, but clinicians prefer to analyze information related to specific diseases or concepts. This mismatch can lead to frustration and inefficiencies. Despite these challenges, AI has the potential to revolutionize healthcare—provided it's designed with the needs of doctors and patients in mind. Dr. Clardy advised AI developers to focus on specific problems they aim to solve, rather than trying to tackle the entire healthcare system at once. Otherwise, AI risk becoming a "medical device" without realizing it.