While some tout the potential revolutionizing powers of artificial intelligence in healthcare, others are not so sure that those powers can be actualized just yet, the American Medical Association reported Jan. 5.
Despite successfully integrating some AI platforms into his practice, Brett A. Oliver, MD, chief medical information officer at Louisville, Ky.-based Baptist Health Medical Group, isn't convinced that AI is in a place to transform healthcare.
Dr. Oliver argued that AI needs more quality control, and its users need to fully understand how its algorithms work to ensure patient safety is prioritized and bias isn't introduced. He also mentioned that without physicians fully understanding the technology, getting them on board is difficult.
"Don't assume that your colleagues know anything about any of this," he told AMA. Lack of knowledge of the AI software also creates the need for large scale training of employees, not just at start-up but continually. It also requires health systems to establish data governance policies.
With the amount of AI offerings increasing, Dr. Oliver warned against being distracted by the "bright and shiny things out there in the AI world." Instead, he recommended using AI to solve only priority problems and buy into programs that can produce actionable data.