INTERVIEW ON THE PRICE OF BUSINESS SHOW, MEDIA PARTNER OF THIS SITE.
Recently Kevin Price, Host of the nationally syndicated Price of Business Show, interviewed Dr. David Wilcox.
Health Transparency: The Real Truth with Dr. David Wilcox
Artificial Intelligence or AI in healthcare is a big buzzword right now. But what does it actually mean for you the healthcare consumer? Will your healthcare providers eventually be replaced by machines that will diagnose, treat, and prescribe your medications? Let’s look at the pros and cons of AI and its potential impact on your healthcare.
AI has been around since the 1950s in the form of Natural Language Processing (NLP). NLP includes applications such as speech recognition, text analysis, translation, and other goals related to language. If you have ever sat in your doctor’s office while they recorded your conversation on a machine you have been introduced to AI in a healthcare environment. What many healthcare consumers fail to realize is that doctors and nurses spend 25% or more of their day doing administrative tasks such as documentation. AI can relieve that burden on clinicians allowing them to spend more time with their patients.
The amount of knowledge your healthcare provider would have to consume to stay on top of all the changes in healthcare is roughly the equivalent of reading 50 research articles a day. Much like using internet search engines to gather the most current information when shopping, buying airline flights, or searching for a 5 star restaurant in the city you live in, AI has the potential to keep your healthcare provider up to date with the current research and trends for virtually any healthcare condition.
Today, algorithms are already outperforming radiologists at spotting malignant tumors and guiding researchers in how to construct cohorts for costly clinical trials. One of the biggest advantages of AI in healthcare is its ability to use your healthcare information including genetics to develop a personalized treatment plan for the healthcare consumer. Many people don’t think twice about having a surgeon use a robot to perform precision surgery on them. These are all forms of AI that are already being used in healthcare.
With all these positive aspects of AI in healthcare why are healthcare consumers still concerned? AI’s deployment in healthcare raises complex ethical questions with unclear liability and accountability. Who is responsible for AI-related mistakes? Should AI handle end-of-life decisions? How do we ensure that AI does not perpetuate healthcare disparities or demographic biases? All very valid concerns.
While AI systems can be highly accurate, they are not infallible. There is always a risk of misdiagnosis or overlooking crucial information, leading to potentially life-threatening errors. AI relies on large amounts of sensitive patient data, which makes data privacy and security a paramount concern. The misuse, unauthorized access to, or exposure of this data can have serious personal, ethical, and legal consequences. With dark agents on the rise such as the Black Cat hacker group with ties to Russia who recently hacked Optum’s Change Healthcare, these are very valid concerns. These hacker groups are actively targeting healthcare and attempting to steal your healthcare data.
Another concern is when AI doesn’t have the answer it can hallucinate and make up answers which may not be accurate. In addition, healthcare insurers are using AI to quickly deny insurance claims without them ever being reviewed by a clinician. United Healthcare and Humana are facing million dollar lawsuits over this practice.
With any new technology, especially AI, the fear of disruption in a negative way is very real. You tend to hear more about the negative aspects of AI in healthcare than you do the positive ones. What many people do not understand is that the email or text notifications they receive reminding them of their annual flu shot or to schedule their colonoscopy are in fact, AI generated. As well as those pesky phone calls to remind you of your upcoming appointments. That is one example of how AI is currently used in healthcare.
Many healthcare consumers feel they have a better understanding of how their healthcare provider makes decisions about their healthcare and are resistant to the use of AI in their healthcare as they don’t understand it. This is normal as AI in healthcare is not very transparent and not very well understood by the average healthcare consumer. The medical community needs to do a better job of explaining the benefits and risks of AI in your healthcare.
Will AI in healthcare replace your healthcare provider? Absolutely not, your healthcare provider and you are the ultimate decision makers in your healthcare. Using AI generated technology can provide your healthcare provider and yourself with additional information as you both develop your plan of care.
While AI has the potential to revolutionize healthcare there needs to be safeguards put in place to safely implement it. Defining the industry’s approaches to AI and providing transparency is a significant responsibility of healthcare leaders and should not be taken lightly. While AI in healthcare looks promising we need to proceed with caution as we seek to fully understand the pros and cons of this technology.
You can purchase Dr. David Wilcox’s book How to Avoid Being a Victim of the American Healthcare System: A Patient’s Handbook for Survival on Amazon at the following link https://lnkd.in/diZKYC2
Follow me on social media at:
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/Dr-David-Wilcox-102834559130574
Twitter – https://twitter.com/DrDavidHelps
You Tube – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyYHs6ttrJ5l6-kUc-lEP9Q
According to a statement, “Healthcare is complex and that is not an accident. It is complex by the healthcare entities vying for your healthcare dollars. Covid has exacerbated the American Healthcare System, which was fragile, to begin with. Many clinicians are leaving healthcare due to burnout. How does the average layperson navigate the complexities of the American Healthcare System where a prescription could cost you $5 at one pharmacy and $500 at another? What does the average layperson do when their insurance company rejects their claim? Proactive education of the American Healthcare System prior to accessing it is the key to safely navigating the healthcare system. Until now, little information has been available to provide the layperson with the knowledge they need to be a better partner in their health care. Dr. David Wilcox’s book How to Avoid Being a Victim of the American Healthcare System: A Patient’s Handbook for Survival” is a game-changer and will provide you with the skill set you need to navigate the American Healthcare System.
Website: https://drdavidwilcox.com/
Dr. Wilcox is a Doctorate prepared nurse who also holds a Masters in Health Administration and is Board Certified in Nursing Informatics. Dr. Wilcox has 28 years of healthcare experience in which he worked as a bedside nurse, hospital administrator, and in healthcare information technology which has helped him to develop his unique perspective on the American Healthcare System.
Dr. Wilcox is the author of the book “How to Avoid Being a Victim of the American Healthcare System: A Patient’s Handbook for Survival (2021)” available at https://www.amazon.com/dp/0578878364
Dr. Wilcox currently resides in North Carolina with his wife and their three dogs.
Dr Wilcox’s website: Dr. David Wilcox – Healthcare, American Healthcare System (drdavidwilcox.com)
LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW IN ITS ENTIRETY HERE
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