5 predictions for advancements of AI in healthcare in 2025

Here are my predictions for promising areas for health AI in 2025:

1. HOME TESTING

There are exciting clinical AI applications that can lead to faster and more convenient care, some of which involve our smart phones with AI applications inside them.

As telehealth visits become more common, combining them with home testing can lead to much greater convenience and save a trip to the doctor’s office.

2. AI AGENTS

Another promising health AI application is the use of AI bots to help patients navigate the often complicated process of getting care. While other industries such as travel, entertainment, and transportation have used digital technologies to improve the experience of their customers, healthcare has been a laggard; most people do not enjoy their interactions with the healthcare system. Some of this is due to a shortage of available human resources. Also, existing digital resources often fall short in their capabilities and how helpful they really are.

AI bots are starting to help by offering timely and personalized interactions with patients, auto-scheduling tests and follow-ups, arranging specialist visits, and being on-demand to answer questions and clarify things.

3. PASSIVE MONITORING

With the changing demographics of our population and the enormous challenges of caring for our aging parents and loved ones, AI may be just what the doctor ordered. Monitoring their safety and health is a top priority, but also very challenging. Current approaches of using cameras to watch them in their homes, or asking them to wear a device, is not to their liking in many cases. Passive monitoring using AI presents an excellent compromise.

Using tiny invisible devices that can emit radar or infrared signals indoors, AI can analyze these signals and monitor those living there. This means immediate detection of falls or signs of deteriorating health. Speaking with initial users of this technology, they indicate that the peace of mind it offers, along with the effort saved of constantly checking on their aging loved ones, is hard to beat. This allows for better quality of life and timely interventions for issues that usually remain under the radar until it’s too late.

4. AMBIENT DOCUMENTATION

As if spending long hours providing care is not enough, doctors have to spend another couple of hours per day writing medical notes. The average doctor spends more than 3.2 hours per day writing notes and doing other administrative tasks. This is precious time they are not spending with their patients.

Powerful AI technologies that can analyze a recording of the doctor-patient conversation and create notes for the doctors are now being used in medical centers like Kaiser Permanente and the Mayo Clinic. Initial experiences with this technology show significant savings of time and effort, as it allows doctors to look up at their patients rather than typing notes during a visit.

5. AUTONOMOUS CODING

A second step doctors take after creating a note for the visit is to assign a code for that encounter. This code allows for tracking of the patient’s health issues and billing, as well as for public health initiatives, allocating national resources, budgeting, and more. As such, capturing accurate codes for each visit is quite important, but time consuming. It creates extra work that takes away from patient time. Most recently, a number of companies are taking this off of doctors’ plates and doing the coding autonomously. The one-two punch of AI creating the notes and doing the coding can free up doctors to spend more time with patients in each visit to be fully focused on them.

While none of us really know how long it will be before we can see major breakthroughs in our understanding of brain diseases, cancer, or longevity, we can be sure that AI will be a powerful weapon in that fight. In the meantime, the aforementioned applications are here and now and can immediately have a positive impact on our quality of life.