Health providers during the pandemic are increasingly embracing artificial intelligence (AI) to handle routine administrative work, in the belief it can save time, cut costs and deliver more efficient care.
AI has been used with varying success during the pandemic to help triage patients, identify potential drug therapies and assist in other clinical decisions. But the tech is also being deployed for routine back-office tasks, allowing health providers to spend more time with patients than with paperwork. The system's makers tout the way they can flag potentially unnecessary tests or duplicative orders.
But all the automation is also raising concerns. It could displace more administrative health workers in the name of cost savings. And the prospect of dealing with a bot for a sensitive screening could prove uncomfortable to less tech-savvy or older patients accustomed to a more personal touch.
Michael Matheny, MD, MS, MPH, FACMI, Director of the Center for Improving the Public's Health through Informatics (CIPHI) says chatbots have become much more conversational in the past five or 10 years, a "big step forward" that puts more patients at ease. Read more in Politico here!