Navigating the world of AI in health

Artificial intelligence (AI) has become an increasingly popular topic in daily news. Whether in banking, ornithology, personalized marketing, publishing, smart homes or sports, AI is infiltrating every aspect of our society.

In the medical and health field, this phenomenon is no exception. We are seeing considerable excitement, promise and enthusiasm around the potential impact of AI, while also facing legitimate concerns.

Eric Topol’s book, *Deep Medicine*, published in 2019, offers a provocative, innovative and optimistic exploration of AI in the medical field, a topic he brilliantly covered during his plenary lecture at the Congress of Internal Medicine Physicians (ACP) in 2024. Since then, AI has continued to evolve rapidly, and its implementation has intensified. In the medical sector, many health systems are taking the lead in using digital scribes, with studies examining the impact of AI in areas such as radiology, pathology and ophthalmology, as well as in tasks such as scheduling patient and clinician appointments. We even learn that AI responses could be more empathetic than those of doctors, and that AI could coach clinicians to improve their empathy. Who would have believed it? Additionally, the application of AI in biomedical research could be revolutionary, especially in drug discovery.

What about the use of AI in the health insurance industry? The use of AI in the prior authorization process has become increasingly common, both among doctors and health insurance companies. Recently, to counter AI-related abuses, the state of California passed a law prohibiting insurance companies from denying health coverage based on what they produce via AI, highlighting the risks errors and biases.

Concerns over privacy, data security, accuracy, accountability, transparency, bias, and health equity surround the implementation of AI in the healthcare sector. health. Additionally, many believe it is important to pay more attention to the quality, diversity and robustness of the data sets used to develop AI algorithms.

These concerns may cause some unease among healthcare professionals, as many of us struggle to understand how AI works or grasp the speed of its evolution. Furthermore, some fear that AI will replace doctors and other health professionals. Recently, a medical student asked me if AI will make doctors obsolete (my answer was no). Clearly, this question is on everyone’s mind.

The American College of Physicians (ACP) recently released a policy document on AI in healthcare, which can serve as a guide for addressing this rapidly evolving area while putting patients’ interests at the forefront.

The ACP AI policy document includes ten position statements. A main theme is that the use of AI in clinical care has the potential to transform care delivery, while neither replacing nor supplanting physician reasoning and decision-making. AI could help solve some of the issues currently plaguing the healthcare industry, such as clinician shortages, burnout and administrative burdens. Theoretically, this could give busy doctors some time, as Eric Topol imagined, thus strengthening the patient-doctor relationship. In a context where time equals money, it remains to be seen how this will translate in practice. Regardless, as Gross recently pointed out, “an AI model may have accuracy, but it will never have attachment or accountability.”

The other positions emphasize the need to align the development, testing and use of AI in health with medical ethical principles, in order to improve patient care, clinical decision-making as well as the patient-patient relationship. physician, while ensuring equity and justice in health matters. Transparency is reaffirmed as essential to promote trust in the patient-doctor relationship. Clinical safety, effectiveness and health equity must be prioritized by developers, researchers and regulators, adopting a process of continuous improvement including feedback.

Despite the focus on AI, a significant gap appears to persist in the medical and public health fields today. On the one hand, we eagerly explore cutting-edge digital capabilities, such as AI, while also turning to skeptics of basic medical science and public health interventions that have been accepted for decades, if not centuries ( think of smallpox). Efforts to counter misinformation and disinformation remain vital and necessary for the health of all. Perhaps AI could help us become better communicators, to convey medical information more effectively to the general public.

As we continue to analyze the impact, potential, and implications of AI in healthcare, it is also important to keep an eye on the horizon regarding quantum computing. If you think AI will revolutionize the way we work, stay tuned. The impact of quantum computing could be even more significant.

Original article written by: Janet A. Jokela, MD, MPH, ACP Treasurer from 2022 to 2025, former Regional Dean of the University of Illinois College of Medicine-Urbana, and currently Professor and Senior Associate Dean of commitment to Carle Illinois College of Medicine, Urbana, IL.

The American College of Physicians is the largest medical specialty organization in the United States, with members in more than 145 countries worldwide. ACP membership includes 161,000 internal medicine physicians, associate specialists and medical students. Internal medicine physicians are specialists who use scientific knowledge and clinical expertise to diagnose, treat and provide compassionate care to adults, ranging from healthy individuals to those with complex illnesses.

Takeaways

• AI is expanding across many sectors, including medicine, generating both excitement and concern.
• Laws, like that of California, attempt to regulate the use of AI in health insurance to avoid bias.
• The ACP document offers guidelines for using AI to improve care while respecting medical ethics.

Reflection on the integration of artificial intelligence in the health sector opens an essential debate on the future of medicine. How could we ensure that AI complements human skills rather than replacing them? The next few years will be crucial to define this relationship and its impact on the quality of care, as well as on the dynamic between doctors and patients.

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