Doctors and administrators across the U.S. continue to speculate on the future of AI in healthcare. Today, this technology saturates the private and public sectors.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) outlined a strategy to encourage the ethical and efficient use of AI to improve healthcare outcomes and operations.
Staying informed about these developments can help your practice save time and money on its operations. We’ll review the HHS plan below, so you don’t need to sift through pages of complex documentation.
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An Overview of the HHS AI Strategy
Artificial intelligence has been a critical asset in healthcare since the 1970s, designed to aid biomedical problem-solving. Today, hundreds of engineers and programmers innovate software to assist in other realms of care coordination and treatment. The observable “snow-balling” of artificial intelligence technology developments prompt the HHS to respond.
As the primary healthcare regulatory body, HHS aims to provide a framework for developers and physicians to consider when researching and adopting new AI technologies. The goal of the plan is to:
- Recognize the value and practicality of AI in healthcare
- Prioritize and organize resources for research and development
- Align and coordinate efforts between regulatory entities and practitioners
- Benchmark and track the progress of the HHS AI strategy
- Communicate valuable information to industry professionals, academics, and the public
Research suggests a projected 42% increase in year-on-year growth for generative AI investments by 2032. These numbers highlight the attention upcoming innovations receive from both physicians and market stakeholders. Many view the HHS’s role in strategic AI planning for this process as necessary to discourage waste, fraud, and abuse.
Future AI Opportunities in Healthcare
Artificial intelligence has the capacity to help HHS meet its regulatory goals while promoting general welfare. Here are a few examples:
- Scientific Progress: HHS believes that AI technology can accelerate scientific progress to increase the quality and length of life.
- Safety: AI can eliminate human error and promote more rigid safety and security standards for healthcare practices.
- Equity: AI helps “democratize” healthcare by boosting service accessibility to patients and physicians.
- Risk Analysis: Developments in AI allow technology to forecast risks or other challenges physicians may face during care coordination.
- Accuracy and Performance: AI can hasten data retrieval and improve the accuracy of medical charts and other essential resources.
HHS monitors innovations to broaden the scope of opportunities and potential applications for the future of AI in healthcare.
Key Sectors for the AI Strategic Policy
The HHS artificial intelligence strategy targets the following sectors:
Medical Research and Development
HHS actively promotes all aspects of medical research and discovery in the U.S. Nearly 83% of NIH funding goes toward research and support.
Researching AI potential in healthcare can hasten solutions for SMB practices looking to grow their businesses and scale operations for enterprise-level hospitals. HHS lists the primary stakeholders for this sector:
- The Department of Health and Human Services
- Regulatory federal agencies
- Patients and research participants
- Academics
- Pharmaceutical and biomedical researchers
- State, tribal, and local governments
- Distributors
- And more
All parties may benefit from the research and discovery of AI tools for healthcare.
Healthcare Delivery
The AI strategy spotlights the need for comprehensive delivery across all healthcare industry sectors. New tools and technologies will become readily available on the market over the foreseeable future. Consequently, HHS must monitor the safety and effectiveness year-round.
HHS creates models to assess risk and other potential challenges that may arise while implementing specific AI tools.
Public Health
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed many gaps in the healthcare industry — particularly issues with rapid reporting, sharing, and monitoring patient data. The HHS cautions developers when conducting research and deliveries that may impact public health. Certain developments may require rigorous testing and oversight.
HHS divisions (ARPA-H, FDA, NIH, etc.) provide funding, guidelines, education, training, and other support to public health.
4 Themes To Watch for During Implementation
As mentioned above, the future of AI in healthcare will have dramatic consequences on the status quo of healthcare delivery. Here are some of the themes the HHS accounts for in its AI strategy:
1. Expansion of AI Research and Development
Generative AI tools are skyrocketing across all industries; healthcare is no exception. It can be a challenge to keep up with every new product and development. However, the HHS devotes significant time and workforce to update healthcare professionals on viable solutions.
2. Promotion of Ethical AI in Healthcare
The HHS notes the risks of AI in personal and professional healthcare use. They account for what is fair, appropriate, valid, effective, and safe when developing strategies around new technology.
Some of these categories may have gray areas, furthering the need for more research and policymaking.
3. Increased Access to Healthcare AI
Artificial intelligence software has become critical for a healthcare practice’s success in this competitive market. Ensuring fair and equal access to healthcare AI can create obstacles for HHS and physicians.
Keeping your staff up-to-date with the newest tools can get you ahead of other organizations when adopting new solutions.
4. Improved Training and Workforce Adoption
As with any new tools or policy, your staff may need extensive training on new AI tools before regular use. The HHS provides resources to prepare your staff for new AI products and widespread industry changes.
Ethical Considerations for the AI Strategic Plan
The HHS does not promote or encourage AI tools that may be detrimental to any of the stakeholders listed in the above sections. Healthcare professionals must consider several ethical considerations when using artificial intelligence to enhance patient care, including:
- Data accuracy and consistency
- Long-term patient health outcomes
- Over-reliance on AI-attributed conclusions
- Software updates or patches that may impact the effectiveness of AI tools
- Patient preferences for healthcare services rendered
These are only a few of the ethical questions posed by the HHS and AI research specialists. Be aware that other concerns may arise as your practice deploys new technologies. It’s best to refer to the HHS if you have questions about the future of AI in healthcare.
Stay Tuned for the Latest HHS Updates
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