New York City hospitals are employing artificial intelligence to identify and target patients who may be nearing the end of life or suffering from conditions such as delirium or malnutrition, Gothamist reported June 27.
Mount Sinai Health System scans patient records with AI to ID patients at risk for malnutrition, analyzing such factors as weight and blood work and referring them to dietitians if needed, and has another AI model to spot delirium, according to the story. The health system also has a chatbot that helps patients decide whether to go to their primary care physician, urgent care or an emergency room.
"The AI serves us. We don't serve it," Joseph Friedman, MD, director of delirium services for Mount Sinai, told the news outlet. "It's not like a Star Trek holographic doctor who's making decisions."
NYC Health + Hospitals, meanwhile, has an algorithm that looks through brain scans to find patients who may be good candidates for blood clot removal, Gothamist reported. The public health system, however, decided not to move forward with a tool to predict missed appointments due to bias concerns.
NYU Langone Health has a care planning tool that predicts patients' risk of dying within the next two months, prompting physicians to discuss end-of-life planning, according to the report.