Cognitive Automation in Healthcare: AI and machine learning are already transforming the way the medical industry functions, and how patients get access to healthcare services. From integrating AI for handling rigorous documentation tasks to personalized healthcare support using conversational bots, physicians are increasingly reliant on new cognitive automation solutions to streamline diagnosis, treatment, and the patient recovery process.
However, pundits would argue that the adoption of cognitive systems in healthcare is slower than required. The WHO reports that there is presently a shortage of 4.3 million healthcare professionals globally. The research does not include the many healthcare professionals who left their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Increasing global disparities in wealth and resources further means that people in the developing world will be deprived of access to reliable healthcare facilities.
Like the many obstacles we’ve overcome in the 21st century using technology, healthcare establishments stand to benefit from the latest advancements in AI and machine learning. In this post, we explore how cognitive automation can produce the solutions to many life-threatening healthcare crises prevalent today.
Cognitive Automation in Healthcare Introduces Life-saving Technology
Cognitive automation opens the door to new possibilities, as better ways of disease prevention, medical diagnosis, and treatment are introduced to early adopters of technology driven healthcare services. Using automation in healthcare is an effective way to control costs, improve the efficacy of the healthcare system and allow patients better access to facilities.
Let’s take a look at some life-saving benefits that are discovered by implementing cognitive automation in healthcare.
Preventing Deaths Using AI-powered Research and Diagnosis
The use of machine learning to identify combinations of molecules to develop effective drugs for medical treatment is changing the way doctors suggest life-saving therapies. Patients with access to this facility can get personalized treatment plans by identifying combinations of medicine that work best for them using AI & ML.
By simulating the combination of compounds and molecules, doctors, researchers and scientists are closer to finding better ways to diagnose and treat non-communicable diseases like cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and respiratory diseases which cause 70% of global deaths.
Preventing Medical Errors that Unwantedly Cause Deaths
Medical records can be analyzed in large volumes, to suggest the best course of action, and gain valuable insights into previously unknown diseases and health risks. In many cases, a slight error in a medical report could cost lives.
Two-year-old Emily Jerry, who was fighting cancer, tragically had died in 2006 after receiving an intravenous saline solution of 20 times the recommended dose from a pharmacy technician. “Medical-care workers are dedicated, caring people, but they are human,” Emily’s father wrote. “And human beings make mistakes.”
The use of cognitive automation to study healthcare records and document patient history can help doctors save time and save lives, while reducing human errors.
Reducing Preventable Deaths in Developing Parts of the World
In parts of the world where healthcare facilities are scarce, AI & ML driven automation can curb the spread of diseases using analytical data, and robots to perform useful tasks. Functions like virtual consulting, medical visualizations, drug research, personalized diagnosis, medical drone delivery, and even remote surgery entails that people in remote corners of the world can receive better healthcare services without having to travel, making accessibility to healthcare the top priority.
The use of cognitive automation in healthcare can detect early symptoms and diagnose life-threatening conditions in advance to deliver timely and efficient care to those in need.
Mitigating the Deaths Caused by Road Traffic Accidents
The use of AI in traffic signals and maps is not that new to us. But what if you knew that cognitive AI could travel with you wherever you go?
Cognitive automation used in autonomous automobiles is capable of sending crash reports and instant alerts to authorities in the event of a road accident. The embedded systems can thereby help frontline workers reach a site on time, quickly study the impact and improve the chances of delivering the most suited aid. Even before the use of self-driving cars, automation has effectively helped train ambulance drivers to drive safely, identify faster routes, and offer calculated first responses to accidents.
Improving Healthcare Operations for Better Patient Assistance
Self-service portals for patients are an effective way to prevent unnecessary trips to the hospital. By delivering personalized support to each patient, the use of cognitive automation can streamline various healthcare operations, some of which are remote monitoring, personalized treatment plans, medical diagnostic support, medication management, and accessibility to healthcare services on compact devices.
The development in IoT devices for severely affected patients to resume normal life is also a life-changing inclusion of cognitive systems. As researchers find new ways to combine biotechnology with automation, more effective treatments can be given to terminally ill and physically handicapped patients.
Reducing the Burden on Healthcare Professionals
The burden on healthcare staff is always high because they are tasked with saving lives, which often could lead to burnouts causing many to leave the line of work. Besides its life-saving properties, the use of automation to manage rigorous medical processes eases the burden on healthcare staff, who can dedicate more efforts towards patient care rather than administrative tasks. In fact, AI can be trained to identify text and avoid discrepancies in a doctor’s handwritten chit using computer vision, to eliminate errors and enhance the quality of healthcare.
Advancements in IoT and computer vision are further improving the efficacy of medical devices and software to offer accurate diagnosis and timely intervention. By applying artificial intelligence to everyday healthcare, cognitive automation can assist healthcare professionals in providing customized care, improving diagnostic accuracy, and optimizing treatment strategies.
Make the Impossible Possible with Cognitive Automation in Healthcare
Cognitive automation opens a new range of healthcare services that may be used right now, from managing libraries of medical literature, and combining thousands of molecular combinations, to analyzing global trends and choosing the most effective therapies.
The use of AI and automation also increases productivity, reduces errors, and gives healthcare workers more time to focus on difficult tasks. To meet the patients’ growing demands, healthcare establishments and service providers can adopt cognitive automation early on as a vital element of their efforts to deliver better healthcare.
If you would like to consult a leading automation consultant, get in touch with our experts to chart your journey to producing world-class healthcare for those in need.
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