ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND HUMAN HEALTH

🤖 AI and Health: New Era of Healthcare with Intelligence and Innovation

The world is changing very fast or we can say that we are living in a very fast evolving world. This changed and the new world has been captured and now controlled by AI (artificial intelligence). Global healthcare also relies on AI today as it has become a powerful tool in reshaping the field of healthcare. AI has created lots of unimaginable opportunities in healthcare like early disease detection, diagnosis and personalised treatment. With the gradual growth in population and daily new medical challenges,AI is now essential for most treatments nowadays. In this article,we will try to understand about the AI role in human health,its advantages and disadvantages and some preventive tips for its moderate usage.

🌟 What is AI: Importance of AI in Modern Healthcare 

AI is computer systems or programming made by the human that can perform so many tasks like decision making, learning, computing, problem solving, data analysing, and providing almost every kind of information. AI has done revolutionary innovations in the healthcare industry which is now very essential for everyone today. From data analysing to diagnosis,assisting doctors and predicting the future health problems, can be done by AI very easily. Today,almost every hospital or clinic is adopting AI-powered solutions for the treatment of patients efficiently, as so many medical AI tools are available and more to be launched in future.

We can see the role and importance of AI in our nearby hospitals as it is widely used by the doctors and medical staff. Whether in radiology, drug development, hospital management, operation theatre, fitness counselling, virtual health assistance or any kind of healthcare procedures,AI is a must. It's because AI can provide and promise accurate diagnosis,better treatment and improve the experience of the patients while saving lots of time. 

✨ Advantages of AI in Health Sector

AI has become a necessity for today's world in every field and every sector. There are so many advantages of AI, let's discuss some.

💡 1. Fast and Accurate Detection of Diseases

As compared with the traditional methods of disease detection, AI diagnostic systems can detect cancer,diabetes, heart problems and neurological issues quite earlier. With the help of advanced algorithms, AI can analyse X-rays, MRIs, CT scans and provide the very best and remarkable results which are better than humans. 

📊 2. Personalised Treatment 

Different patients have different levels and nature of diseases and they need customized treatment by studying their genetic or medical history and their lifestyles. AI minimizes the trial-and-error treatments and enhances the patients recovery outcomes. 

⚕️ 3. Improves Patient Monitoring

The devices powered by AI can efficiently track and monitor different levels like heart rate,oxygen levels, stress levels, sleep quality and physical activity of a patient in real time. The necessary steps can be taken easily and early by the doctors or users to prevent any unexpected conditions. Thus,AI powered devices play an important role in the monitoring process.

🔬 4. Faster Drug Development

AI has improved drug discovery by analysing the possible drug reactions, the results of combining chemicals and the potential cures in a time fraction as compared with the traditional or conventional research. At the time of global health crises COVID-19, these AI analysing aids were so effective. 

🧑‍⚕️ 5. Minimizing Human Error in Healthcare system

There is a possibility of mistakes and errors in diagnosis which is really life-threatening. AI systems reduce such chances of errors by helping the doctors to cross-check the reports and the treatments to be given. With this, the chances of wrong prescriptions or misdiagnosis becomes very low.

🏥 6. Improved Hospital Management Efficiency 

Besides treatment, there are so many things that need to be maintained in any hospital or clinic. Managing patient data like appointment scheduling, medical records, prescriptions records,billing and inventory are some of the important tasks that are very important in any hospital premises. With the help of AI such administrative records are becoming very easy to manage and subsequently the doctors and nurses can give more attention to the patients. 

🧠 7. Improved Mental Health with AI

AI-POWERED therapy apps and chatbots are providing necessary emotional support, mood tracking, guided meditation, mental health screening and psychological assistance,which is very important for the improvement of our mental health. 

⚠️ Disadvantages of AI in Health Sector

Although there are many advantages of AI in our day to day life especially in healthcare,there are still some disadvantages too. Let’s have a look.

🔒 1. Issues of Data Privacy and Security 

Patients' privacy comes to stake when there is a security breach in personal medical data stored in AI systems. The same stolen data can be used by the cyberattackers to misuse it. So,there is a risk in patient privacy. 

💼 2. Lessen Human Interaction

The interaction between patients and doctors has an emotional connectivity. Taking over most of the doctors tasks, AI has lessened and weakened the relationship between patient and doctor and thus,personalised care is much affected. 

❌ 3. Errors of Algorithm and Misinterpretations

Precisely, AI is very powerful but it is not always perfect. Biased algorithms, bugs in software, and incorrect data may result in wrong predictions and error in diagnosis which is a threat to the doctors and the patients as well.

💸 4. Higher Cost in Implementation

AI technology is quite costly and very challenging for the small hospitals/clinics or the ones situated in rural areas. Advanced machinery,software systems are very expensive to install and their maintenance too,is not very easy. 

👩‍⚕️ 5. Over Dependency on Technology

Human expertise and efforts are reduced because of over dependency on AI. Doctors and medical personnel must understand that the AI technology is an addition to their skill,not a replacement of their existing one.

🛡️ Moderate Usage & Preventive Tips for Safe AI Integration in Healthcare

Complete reliability or complete denial of AI is not fair. A moderate usage of AI can fulfill all the requirements of every sector, especially healthcare. Let's try to understand some of the moderate usage of AI. 

🧭 1. Keep Human Oversight at Every Stage

As we have already discussed that AI is an addition to the skill and not the replacement of the existing one,every AI-generated result must be checked thoroughly by a trained medical professional. Moreover, the data given by a particular tool must be compared and verified by another similar tool.

🔐 2. Use Secure Platforms for Patient Data

Adopt secure and safe tools for the patients data records instead of any non-encrypted system. Choose secure cloud storage and regular cybersecurity audits to maintain the privacy of patients health information. 

🧪 3. Ensure Data Accuracy and Proper Inputs

AI works according to the algorithms and the data provided to it. Sometimes,the outcomes are biased. Hospitals should use high-quality medical datasets with diversification to get unbiased outcomes. 

📚 4. Training for Healthcare Professionals

Training should be given to the medical staff on a regular basis and in every hospital or clinic. They must know about the different AI tools and how to use them properly to avoid any misconception. 

⏳ 5. Balance between Technology and Human 

AI doesn't have any emotions like humans. That's why it can't be replaced with empathy, human judgement and communication. Along with the AI analyses, patients and doctors must interact with each other and try to be emotionally attached. 

 💼 6. Use only Certified and Approved AI Tools

There are so many AI tools and platforms,and only a few are reliable among them. Choose only AI tools which are approved by the regulatory departments and medical authorities. This will be good for safety and reliability of the patients and the doctors as well.

📱 7. Mindful Usage for Personal Health Apps

Self-diagnosing can be very dangerous and it should be avoided. Don't follow any fitness or health app without any consultation. AI can tell you how to be slim by running, but AI doesn't know about your body capabilities. Therefore, the data given by AI must be reviewed and a proper consultation must be added to get the best results. 

🏁 Conclusion: AI is a Powerful Addition in Healthcare, Not a Replacement

AI has done a tremendous and revolutionary work in global healthcare as it improves the accuracy, efficiency, accessibility and lessens the human workloads. The potential of AI is unmatched for the early detection of diseases, their treatments and possible preventive measures. Besides this, AI must be used sensibly and with full responsibility as there are some disadvantages too. Therefore, sharp vigilance and proper review is must to get the best results. 

AI is made by humans,for humans. It depends upon us to use it wisely with a balance and achieve the desired outcomes that give us a safer, smarter and healthy future.

Thanks for reading, 

Have a nice day 😊.