Health care leaders are working to improve the health care system using artificial intelligence, but first, they must overcome present barriers and limitations, according to health strategists.
One of the biggest hurdles will be changing the narrative that robots will replace doctors, said Walter Harris, president of Health Strategy and Delivery Art and Wellness Enterprises.
Instead, AI tools will be used to reduce the friction between patients and the health care system, reduce heath care costs and reduce unnecessary burdens on caregivers, Harris said.
The first step in introducing more AI into the health care system is to educate the public and policymakers on what the plans are for its continued integration into the system, he said. The Think Health: AI For Healthy Communities conference on Jan. 10 was part of that initial step, aiming to get people on the same page for a path forward, he added.
The Alice L. Walton School of Medicine, in collaboration with Stanford Medicine, hosted the conference at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, where national leaders in health technology, education and policy discussed the possibilities and ethical challenges of AI in health care.
After introductory statements by an AI bot, an assistant professor of medicine and biomedical data science at Stanford kicked off the conference with an example of how AI has performed compared to physicians.
Jonathan Chen referenced a study published in the journal JAMA Network Open in October, which found ChatGPT outperformed a group of physicians when asked to come up with diagnoses for as many as six patients in one hour. The study also found AI software did not significantly improve the physicians’ diagnosis capabilities.
Physicians using ChatGPT to help with diagnoses in the study got a median score of 76%, and those using sources without AI got a median score of 74%. ChatGPT coming up with diagnoses on its own got a median score of 92%.
Though the results did show a robot can diagnose patients better than a doctor in a simulated environment, the study had limitations that do not mimic real life, Chen said. The need for human doctors remains crucial in navigating the complexities of real-life situations, he said.
CREATING CONSISTENCY
In addition to a consistent understanding of how AI will be a part of the health care system, there has to be a consistent model of its use for patients, Harris said. It has to be consistent from one place to another if clinical care issues will be taken care of, he added.
Part of creating consistency in the health care system is training medical students in hospitals and clinics that have already implemented advanced technologies in their systems and practices, said Yogi Hernandez Suarez, executive vice dean and professor at Alice L. Walton School of Medicine.
The new school of medicine will hold its first classes in July with a class of 48 students who will use AI simulation technology from day one, Suarez said.
Students will learn to engage with a diverse range of patients through scripted simulations set in environments enhanced by AI and other technologies, she said. Students will also study early on in Mercy clinics, which use AI systems for working with groups of patients, she added.
Mercy has implemented more than 125 AI and machine learning models in its 55 hospitals, according to Steve Mackin, president and CEO of Mercy Health Systems.
The technology currently operates behind the scenes, and much of it impacts patient care, he said at the Jan. 10 conference. One of the implemented systems is meant to improve the transfer of patients from the emergency department to in-patient care facilities, he said. This type of transferring will take place over 225,000 times this year, he added.
Jim Daly, chief information officer at Washington Regional Medical Center, said previously while some AI technology has been available for quite a while, the health system considers the latest evolution in artificial intelligence an “emerging technology,” and, as such, the health system plans to be careful about its use.
“Since patient care is our priority, we must be deliberate and disciplined in how we incorporate it into our operations,” Daly said.
The Washington Regional system’s use of AI is considered computer-assisted technology, primarily in information technology operations and health care billing and coding, he said.
“We have established an AI Governance Committee made up of clinical and IT leaders that is studying how we can best enable AI across the organization,” he said. “As we consider future AI use, we must focus on doing so in a safe, ethical and unbiased manner, keeping patient care as our primary focus.”
LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences has implemented AI in areas of research, such as cancer imaging data management, according to the university website.
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences also has a Creativity Hub for Artificial Intelligence in Health where hub members discuss ways to integrate AI into both clinical and educational aspects of their practice, according to a news release.
As part of the discussion, participants weigh concerns that AI may inadvertently reinforce existing health disparities and the potential algorithms have to revolutionize medicine, according to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences website.
The Alice L. Walton School of Medicine is embracing AI and is committed to leveraging the technology to its full potential, according to Sharmila Makhija, CEO of the school.
The primary reason the school chose Mercy as its educational partner was its innovative approach toward technology and AI, she said during the Jan. 10 conference.
Mercy opened the Mercy Virtual Care Center in 2015, making it the first of its kind anywhere. Mercy opened the center to close a gap in health care between rural areas and hospitals, Mackin said. This led to more models of practice powered by technology and ideas for its use, he said.
A big goal Mercy has is to change the health care system by “putting control in the consumer’s hands,” Mackin said.
To do this, Mercy envisions an AI tool where patients can have questions answered about what to do and where to go for the best help before they engage with an actual medical professional, he said.
Currently, Mercy has a chatbot on its website named Toni that can assist patients with appointments, medication refills and directions to physical Mercy locations, but it cannot offer medical advice.
The ultimate goal is to better equip patients with advanced tools on the front end, empowering them to get those first steps right on their own, Mackin said.
The current health care system has trained bad behavior by encouraging patients to come back to doctors so doctors can get paid, Mackin said.
“It’s not the patient’s fault,” he added. “It’s a bad system.”
By focusing on successful outcomes with new solutions on a greater scale, the process by which things are done can change, he said. Instead of relying on doctors every step of the way, patients could have smart digital guides with them at all times. This would educate patients on health and the health care system, minimize strain on practitioners and lower health care costs, Mackin said.
“That’s the journey we’re building products around,” he said.
COACH BOT
Thrive AI Health is a new company exclusively devoted to building a product that will serve as an AI health coach, and the Alice L. Walton Foundation is a strategic investor.
Thrive AI Health is a creation of the OpenAI Startup Fund and Thrive Global, a company that specializes behavior change technology. Thrive Global believes AI could improve both health spans and lifespans, “because health is also what happens between doctor visits,” according to a Thrive Global press release.
Thrive AI Health’s AI health coach will use the power of generative AI to hyper-personalize and scale behavior change across the five key and interconnected daily behaviors that govern health: sleep, food, fitness, stress management and connection, according to the release.
Given that behavior accounts for a significant amount of health outcomes, people can make dramatic improvements in their health by adopting healthier habits in these five behaviors with the help of an AI health coach, according the release.
“Recent advancements in artificial intelligence present an unprecedented opportunity to make behavior change much more powerful and sustainable,” said DeCarlos Love, Thrive AI Health CEO.
The Thrive AI Health Coach is the product to solve the current limitations of AI by providing personalized, proactive, and data-driven coaching across the five daily behaviors, Love said.
“It will improve health outcomes, reduce health care costs and significantly impact chronic diseases worldwide,” he said.
“Through AI, we can make health and wellness opportunities more accessible for all,” said Alice Walton, founder of the Alice L. Walton Foundation, Heartland Whole Health Institute, and the Alice L. Walton School of Medicine.
“Thrive AI Health offers the potential of increasing access to tools that can change behaviors and ultimately increase quality of life.”
AI is still a new area of technology, and it is not beyond causing harm. Tod Leaver, a practicing physician in London, said the next steps for integrating more AI into the health care system involve doing as much research as possible.
One of the main concerns going forward will be whether people can trust bots are always giving the correct advice, he said.
“Until virtual support systems have been further advanced and studies have shown they consistently provide information on a par with medical professionals, there would be concerns about AI fully taking the reins,” he said.
Steve Mackin, president and CEO of Mercy Health Systems, (from left) on a panel with Natasha Bray, campus dead at OSU College of Osteopathic Medicine at the Cherokee Nation in Tahlequah, Friday, January 10, 2025 during a conference on AI and healthcare hosted by the Alice L. Walton School of Medicine and Stanford Medicine in Bentonville. The conference focuses on using advances in artificial intelligence to improve healthcare, according to a news release from the Alice L. Walton School of Medicine. Visit nwaonline.com/photo for today’s photo gallery. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Charlie Kaijo)
Yogi Hernandez Suarez, executive vice dean and professor of the Alice L. Walton School of Medicine, speaks, Friday, January 10, 2025 during a conference on AI and healthcare hosted by the Alice L. Walton School of Medicine and Stanford Medicine in Bentonville. The conference focuses on using advances in artificial intelligence to improve healthcare, according to a news release from the Alice L. Walton School of Medicine. Visit nwaonline.com/photo for today’s photo gallery. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Charlie Kaijo)
Stephen Busscher demonstrates the Innerworld, a virtual peer based mental health support group platform, Friday, January 10, 2025 during a conference on AI and healthcare hosted by the Alice L. Walton School of Medicine and Stanford Medicine in Bentonville. The conference focuses on using advances in artificial intelligence to improve healthcare, according to a news release from the Alice L. Walton School of Medicine. Visit nwaonline.com/photo for today’s photo gallery. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Charlie Kaijo)
