AI and Chatbots and ChatGPT, oh my! Technology is transforming healthcare at warp speed. It seems like these days; you need a degree in Computer Science or “Science Fiction” to understand all the new lingo that’s being branded as the ‘future’ of healthcare.
Here are ten popular healthcare tech terms and definitions that all healthcare providers should know:
- AI: Artificial Intelligence that gives computers and machines the advantage of mimicking the problem-solving and decision-making talent of the human brain.
- Chatbots: computer programs that simulate and process written and or spoken human conversations. Humans can have conversations and interact with digital devices as if communicating with another human being. The first chatbot in history was created in 1994 by Joseph Weizberg at the Massachusetts Institutes of Technology (MIT) and named “ELIZA.”
- Machine Learning: a section of AI that spotlights the use of data and algorithms to imitate the learning capabilities of a human being.
- Natural Language Processing: a subfield of AI that helps machines to understand and process human language to perform repetitive tasks. Some examples include spell check, machine translation, and ticket summarization.
- Turing Test, also known as the “imitation game,” developed by Alan Turing in 1950 as a test of a machine’s ability to exhibit intelligent behavior.
- Deep Learning AI: used to help detect and diagnose diseases faster, personalize patient treatment plans, and automate drug discoveries and diagnostics.
- ChatGPT: is an AI “chatbot” that uses natural language processing which allows you to have human-like conversations and much more with a machine. Elon Musk helped to develop OpenAI (creators of ChatGPT). Microsoft is now controlling ChatGPT.
- ChatGPT-3.5: stands for Generative Pre-Trained Transformer 3. It’s the third version of the ChatGPT tool to be released. It generates texts using pre-trained and programmed algorithms with the data to carry out their specific task.
- ChatGPT4: more advanced than ChatGPT-3.5. Better at understanding context by giving more straight answers to questions. It can also interpret images and provide ideas for recipe lists of ingredients located in your refrigerator.
- ChatGPT5: advanced form of AI which could achieve artificial general intelligence (AGI) and become identical to a human.
Better Healthcare Delivery to the Masses
Healthcare Tech and AI are committed to revolutionizing the healthcare system. Many hospitals around the world already use AI and ChatTGPT platforms. The value of AI comes from increased cost-effectiveness and more efficient workflows to decrease provider burnout.
Prevention
The government in Singapore has mined the data of 5 million citizens to identify pre-diabetic people. These people will benefit from using AI and ChatGPT platforms to manage their pre-diabetes diagnoses better, preventing full-blown diabetes. Part of the program includes giving people daily nudges on how they can lower their blood sugar. So far, this program has been successful in decreasing the advancement of pre-diabetic patients.
Robotics
The United States has been utilizing AI robotics in surgery for several years. Robotic-assisted surgery is minimally invasive, and research shows that patients experience decreased post-surgical complications.
Robotic mitral valve repair patient done yesterday discharged home today! Likely the first postoperative day 1 discharge after surgical mitral repair in the southern US and in Georgia! @GaHeart_NGHS@myNGHS @ACC_Georgia@GeorgiaAHA pic.twitter.com/7hlD9a6eRI
— T. Sloane Guy, MD, MBA (@sloaneguy) February 28, 2023
One of AI and machine learning’s superpowers is pattern recognition and the ability to make predictions. Some examples of how healthcare organizations use AI and machine learning technology include predicting patient hospital admissions to provide safer staffing ratios, more precise diagnostic abilities on rare cancer cases, improving the interpretation of patients’ radiology scans, and further advancing the work of radiologists.
A Second Pair of Eyes
In a recent interview in Forbes magazine, Tom Lowery, National Director of AI for Health & Life Sciences at Microsoft, states:
“When a radiologist looks at a scan, they’re typically looking for one thing, which is why you have that image done. But many times, in the background, there’s something else that can be seen. So as radiologists are dictating, natural language processes are being used to call out these secondary issues for follow-up, where previously those things might go unnoticed…so it’s a preventive way of trying to get out ahead of a future health problem.”
AI Benefits in Hospice Care
Late referrals and the difficulty in accurately predicting patient death within six months are just some obstacles to getting a patient admitted into hospice care. As a matter of fact, AI and machine learning have the potential to predict which patients have a high probability of expiring within the next six months, allowing for quicker admission into hospice care and improving a patient’s quality of life.
ChatGPT Transforming the Future of Healthcare Tech
As soon as ChatGPT launched in November of 2022, it became the fastest-growing platform in the world, gaining 100 million users in 60 days. Social Media entrepreneurs are creating automated business plans business. In fact, high school and college students are using the platform for homework and writing essays. Some of the ways ChatGPT will revolutionize healthcare include:
- Development of virtual assistants to book patient appointments
- Aid in patient management
- Patient health education
- Medical record keeping and streamlined EMRs
- Improved healthcare systems
- Automatically monitoring patient vital signs and signaling warning signs to patient deterioration
- Healthcare professionals dictating to ChatGPT with better-streamlined details
- Real-time patient translation services of technical terms and medical jargon
- Better patient understanding of health, wellness, and disease process
- Identifying patients who meet inclusion criteria in clinical trials.
- Development of more accurate symptom checkers
- Medication management
- Medical writing
- Patient triage
- Predictive maintenance of hospital equipment
- Quick detection of atrial fibrillation in cardiac care
- Patient data collection at home
- Integration of information across many platforms like radiology, EMR’s and genomics
- Better and more efficient patient diagnosis
- Better image analysis
Should ChatGPT Be Used for Mental Health?
Recently, Rob Morris, the founder of Koko, a complimentary therapy program, admitted on Twitter that his service used ChatGpt-3 chatbots to respond to over 4,000 users seeking mental health advice. When users were told a machine was counseling them, they did not like it. “Simulated empathy feels weird,” states Rob Morris.
We provided mental health support to about 4,000 people — using GPT-3. Here’s what happened 👇
— Rob Morris (@RobertRMorris) January 6, 2023
More and more people are using ChatGPT platforms for mental health to deal with social isolation, anxiety, depression, and relationship breakups. According to an article in the Indian Express, “chatbots monitor and analyze human emotion and then use machine learning to track and record a person’s mood, acting like a person’s virtual therapist.” There is also conflicting dialogue regarding a machine’s ability to analyze and respond to human emotion accurately.
Of course, if a machine were to diagnose a patient inaccurately, the outcome could be fatal. There can also be a false sense of acceptance, especially among young adult patients. It’s important to realize that AI and machine learning platforms are driven by practicality and not based on real human emotions.
Healthcare Providers Trusting the Process
A research study of 11,004 U.S. adults finds that only 38% agree that using AI to diagnose disease and recommend treatments would lead to better outcomes, while 33% said it would lead to worse results.
One of the main problems with more significant AI usage in healthcare facilities is physicians’ and healthcare providers’ understanding of what AI implementation could represent. Not to mention, to have more healthcare providers adopt AI and machine learning systems, they must be able to trust and understand the predictions the machines are giving them. Researchers recently put ChatGPT through the U.S. Medical Board 3-part Licensing Exam to to see if it could pass. ChatGPT could perform at or near the passing rate on all three exams without training or added cheat sheets.
Should We Fear ChatGPT?
In a recent interview Sam Altman ChatGPT CEO, states, “AI will reshape society,” and he’s “a little bit scared of this.” With the new ChatGPT5 having qualities identical to humans and the ability to process data above and beyond what the human mind can, we should all be afraid.
There’s a scene in the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey where a computer by the name of HAL is in control of most of the operations on the spaceship Discovery. Hal makes an error that he blames on human error. When the ship’s captain keeps giving HAL orders, HAL responds, “I’m sorry, Dave, I’m afraid I can’t do that.” Hal then starts to take over the spaceship, killing most of the crew who are asleep in suspended animation.
Even though 2001: A Space Odyssey is just a science fiction movie, it gives humanity something to think about regarding ethics when it comes to healthcare tech making decisions. AI and machines having too much power over life-and-death decisions is a scary thought. It’s important to understand that no matter what outcome the AI spits out, humans and healthcare providers must always be able to make the final call on all patient care decisions. On balance, let’s hope that machines will only partially replace humans in healthcare.