About the Author: Tanya is a Student of the Bharati Vidyapeeth University, New Law College, Pune.
INTRODUCTION
There is a significant increase in artificial intelligence in the healthcare sector as it is rapidly evolving day by day. New technology has come up with an update that makes work easier and more flawless as there are advances in technology like machine learning and data analysis, which help improve the healthcare sector and also enhance the medical reports, providing personal or specific treatment, predict the patient outcomes, maintaining the records and data of every patient systematically. AI can store, identify, and process a large amount of data, which is helpful for both patients and doctors. Due to this, healthcare facilities become more efficient and easily accessible to everyone.
In today’s world, the need for healthcare is growing rapidly, driven by ageing populations, increasing chronic conditions, and the challenges posed by global health crises. At the same time, AI technologies are offering new solutions to address these pressures. As healthcare systems work to provide more effective, personalized, and accessible care, AI is becoming an essential tool in meeting these evolving demands.
This manuscript will explore what the future of AI in healthcare could look like, focusing on its potential benefits, the challenges it may face, and the ethical questions that arise as AI becomes more integrated into medical practices. It will also consider how AI can improve healthcare outcomes while ensuring its responsible and thoughtful implementation[1].
THE CURRENT STATE OF AI IN HEALTHCARE
AI is improving the various things which was not improved in the physical world. The Healthcare sector evolves more in the virtual world as compared to the physical which means that it is used in diagnostic tools and is now employed in radiology, and pathology, which helps to assist in analysing medical images, predicting analytics, identifying abnormalities, and detect diseases like cancer, heart conditions, and neurological disorders.
There is an AI-driven virtual assistant that interacts with patients to guide patients toward their concerning areas, monitor their symptoms, and also provide clinical advice. AI provides medical reports by analysing the patient’s symptoms and the patient also follows the prediction of the system so there is trust between the AI and the patient.
AI also plays a crucial role in drug development. AI can detect the drug patients more quickly as compared to the traditional methods. AI provides deep analysis of the symptoms and also provides treatments faster as compared to traditional methods.
AI is also improving the overall efficiency of healthcare by taking over many administrative tasks, simplifying patient record management, and helping to allocate resources more effectively. By automating routine processes, AI reduces the chances of human error and allows healthcare professionals to spend more time focusing on what matters most — their patients. This not only makes healthcare delivery smoother but also helps reduce costs, making the entire system more efficient and accessible for everyone involved[2].
POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF AI IN HEALTHCARE
The potential benefits are:[3]
Improved Diagnosis and Treatment: AI in healthcare plays a crucial role in improving diagnosis and treatment. AI systems analyse the large pool of data or reports of patients which provide a wider range of conditions such as medical records, identifying patterns, and imaging scans as it helps the doctors diagnose a wide range of conditions, from complex diseases like cancer to heart diseases or neurological treatment, etc. AI can also predict how patients will respond to different treatments, helping doctors create personalized, evidence-based treatment plans tailored to each individual’s unique medical history and genetic makeup.
Enhance Patient Care: AI provides continuous support to the patient in their healthcare journey. There are also wearable devices that help in detecting the heart rate, Blood pressure, glucose levels, oxygen saturation, etc as it tracks health care metrics in real-time. This continuously monitors the parameters related to health and provides continuous reminders if there is any minor discrepancy in the body. This not only increases convenience but also ensures that patients receive timely care, especially for non-urgent concerns, while freeing up healthcare professionals to focus on more critical cases.
Cost Reduction and Accessibility: AI is increasingly evolving daily, making the healthcare sector more reliable, accessible, and affordable as there are many people or communities where they lack adequate healthcare facilities or most people have a busy schedule that doesn’t allow them to go to any healthcare sector. Due to this, AI come up with advances in their technology with the help of AI, everyone can schedule their appointments, process their bills, or maintain their data or records in one place as it makes the work easier for healthcare staff and there will be no mistakes.
REAL-TIME MONITORING AND PREDICTIVE ANALYSIS
AI can come up with the technology to detect any healthcare issues of the patient at any time as it provides real-time monitoring and predictive analysis of the patient. A wearable device attaches with an advanced sensor which provides a signal if there are any symptoms of health. AI can monitor the signals of high blood pressure, Heart rate, blood sugar levels, and oxygen levels as it also gives early warning signals relating to difficulty in breathing. The timely signals can save one’s life and provide a chance of recovery which improves the health issues.
CONCLUSION
In today’s world, AI plays a crucial role in everyone’s life and makes necessary changes which is required. There is an advance in technology in the healthcare sector which makes healthcare services more efficient and accessible to all. Now, the patient does not waste their time standing in a long queue waiting for their turn or having any billing-related problems. This problem is solved by AI, the patient who lacks adequate facilities or has busy schedules can schedule their appointment without any problem, can process their billing, or maintain their data or records in one place which provides faster treatment and also saves time.
Now, the patient can monitor their health all the time whenever they want because of the AI sensor wearable devices which provide predictive analysis of their health and give early warning signals if there is any discrepancy in health which makes it more affordable and given a chance of recovery.
References:
[1] ‘The Future of AI in Healthcare’ <https://www.iqvia.com/blogs/2024/02/the-future-of-ai-in-healthcare> accessed 18 March 2025
[2] Regulatory considerations on artificial intelligence for health (WHO 2023)
[3] Lisa D. Ellis, ‘The Benefits of the Latest AI Technologies for Patients and Clinicians’ (Harvard Medical School, 30 August 2024) <https://postgraduateeducation.hms.harvard.edu/trends-medicine/benefits-latest-ai-technologies-patients-clinicians> accessed 15 January 2025