By 2030, AI will be deeply integrated into healthcare, transforming how patients and providers interact.
AI tools that quickly analyze lab results and scans will help speed detection and diagnosis of conditions like cancer or heart disease. Systems that combine different types of data, like images, genetic information and medical records, will give doctors a more complete picture of a patient’s health, leading to better diagnosis and treatment. Critical conversations about diagnoses and treatment will remain the responsibility of healthcare professionals, but AI will offer support. For example, AI will ensure patient information is customized to their age, education level and health condition.
While human empathy and judgment will still be critical in delivering the best care, AI will help nurses by monitoring patients’ vital signs. It will suggest treatment plans based on a patient’s medical history and warn doctors about possible problems like worsening symptoms or harmful drug interactions. AI will also handle time-consuming paperwork by automating tasks like coding, billing, and managing electronic health records. All this will reduce stress for doctors and nurses, enable them to spend more time with patients, and lead to quicker, more personalized care.
Even when patients aren’t at the doctor’s office, wearable devices will be able to monitor more disease indicators and send real-time information to AI systems that alert patients and their doctors about potential health risks. This will shift healthcare toward preventing illnesses, rather than just treating them after they occur.
With AI’s use, ethical and legal concerns will become more important, and concerns about safety and fairness will be addressed by clearer rules, monitoring and education.
—Metin N. Gurcan, director of the Center for Artificial Intelligence Research, Wake Forest University School of Medicine