By Amina Niasse
NEW YORK, June 9 (Reuters) – Artificial intelligence is helping improve accuracy in patient care and in some cases saving time and money, according to a survey sponsored by Philips, which provides diagnostic, imaging, and cloud technology to the healthcare industry, the CEO of its North American division said.
The technology over time is set to change the role of clinicians in healthcare, said Jeff DiLullo, pointing to increased labor productivity in particular.
“The median number of additional patients they can meet per week is five,” DiLullo said. “That has an economic implication to a health system.”
Philips’ Future Health Index survey, conducted by research consultancy Vitreous World between February and April, involved respondents across 10 countries including 2,011 clinicians and 20,085 patients.
About 30% of the doctors surveyed said AI had materially led to savings in their budgets.
Among the clinicians, 27% said AI had helped them identify possible medical errors at least three times in the past three months, while 36% said it increased the number of patients they are able to see on a weekly basis. But 77% of the clinicians who responded said AI training was unavailable, limited or inconsistent.
Netherlands-based Philips said healthcare professionals are largely using AI for administrative work, such as compiling data and scheduling, with more complex decisions being handled by clinicians.
Patients are also increasingly turning to AI for advice on health issues, but prior research has shown the technology is not more helpful than other methods for making healthcare decisions.
Health insurers such as Centene have lamented AI use by health systems, which they say has aggressively or inappropriately triggered increased reimbursement payments.
(Reporting by Amina Niasse in New York; Editing by Caroline Humer and Bill Berkrot)
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