Revolutionising Healthcare with AI: Some thoughts post BOI's #AutonomousInnovationSummit

"Healthcare will probably be more affected by AI than any other area of life."

That's what Kimberly Powell, VP of healthcare at Nvidia, said during Nvidia’s recent AI Summit. The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into healthcare is set to profoundly impact every aspect of the industry. But as we stand on the brink of this profound evolution, it's crucial to think through how healthcare organisations can stay ahead of the curve and adapt to this dynamic landscape.

Redefining Innovation

Perhaps the greatest opportunity AI presents is the chance to challenge and redefine what we mean by 'innovation itself'. But this brings its' own challenges. Internally, this means reframing how teams organise and align around shared problems, goals and metrics. Organisational change, enabling technologies, data architecture, capability building, and innovative mindsets will be the driving forces here.

AI will allow us to simplify organisations, most notably around common, shared information and intertwining strategies. This clarity will drive focus - and in my opinion this focus will help innovators think beyond the product infront of them and beyond to the relationships and ecosystems these products (and people) inhabit. In a world where humanity will become evermore precious and premiumised, healthcare companies who take as much time, care and discipline in innovating relationships as much as products will win. But this involves a whole new muscle... understanding, communicating, enacting, and measuring demonstrable behaviour changes to create better health outcomes.

In such a dynamic environment, businesses that aren't moving forward are effectively standing still. A recent report by Accenture suggests that AI in healthcare can create $150 billion in annual savings for the U.S. healthcare economy by 2026. And whilst I'm excited about synergies, I'm more excited about what the redeployed capital can create. Adopting an external and experimental mindset is essential here. Experts, patients, and consumers are ultimately all people, and healthcare organizations should seek to add value outside their traditional boundaries. Focusing on trust and differentiation is key. AI will democratize and automate many processes, so businesses need to become more trusted and unique in the market.

Emerging Trends and Technologies

AI's potential in healthcare goes beyond well-known applications like drug discovery and operational efficiencies. Emerging trends in data and sensor technologies are set to revolutionize our understanding of health. AI can analyze, synthesise, and transform data, offering new insights into our health and the world around us.

One promising area is conversational services. We've seen the rise of telemedicine and AI-based chatbots, but the next step is deeply integrated and agent conversational services. These services, powered by large language models and multimodal interfaces, will provide more personalised, accessible and scalable healthcare experiences. According to a study by Frost & Sullivan, the telehealth market is expected to reach $185.6 billion by 2026, highlighting the growing adoption of these technologies. But the market for autonomous agents and AI is rapidly growing, expected to reach $70.53 billion by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 42.8% from 2023 to 2030. This significant growth underscores the potential impact these technologies will have across various sectors, including healthcare.

Additionally, ambient measurement technologies offer opportunities for more proactive and preventative diagnostics. Technologies like ocular measures of stress, VO2 measurements, and remote monitoring systems are shifting healthcare from point-of-care ....to point-of-need .... to point of experience , enabling better self-knowledge and personalised health outcomes on a real time and individual basis. The use of remote patient monitoring is projected to grow by 129% by 2028, driven by advancements in sensor technology and AI .

Strategic Use of AI

It's important to be clear on the AI strategy as a toolbox of specific tools. AI is not a one-size-fits-all solution; each tool has its own strengths and must be deployed strategically. This specificity needs careful consideration and planning to be effective. For instance, whilst LLM's hold huge potential there is also massive amounts of wastage and costs. From my experience to date, ,these early days are seeing companies taking the proverbial AI sledge hammer to enterprise use cases. Model tuning is still in its' relative infancy as we think about its application to different commercial and operational use cases. I would envision a world where AI stacks are made up of a multitude of highly tuned and task oriented, fit for purpose models, augmented with enterprise-owned data.

Leveraging AI for Health Equity

AI has the potential to address healthcare disparities and improve health equity. Access, literacy, and affordability are intertwined challenges that AI can help solve. Enhancing access to healthcare involves making education relevant, simple, and available. Advanced translation services like WaveL.ai and GPT-4o's environment recognition capabilities can break down language and accessibility barriers, making health information more comprehensible and actionable.

Lowering the cost of drug discovery can also help address specific health issues in minority populations. As AI reduces costs, treatments that were previously not financially viable to develop may become accessible. For instance, AI-driven drug discovery can reduce the cost of new drug development by up to 70% . New business models built around personalized treatment and services can emerge if the market starts to treat data and identity as new currencies, enabling individuals to pay with data, creating better, more accurate models and driving personalisation in a system too often devoid of it.

Conclusion

The future of AI in healthcare is full of exciting possibilities. By redefining innovation, embracing emerging trends, and strategically leveraging AI, healthcare organizations can navigate this transformative landscape. Moreover, AI offers significant potential to address health disparities and improve equity, making healthcare more accessible and personalised.

As we continue to explore and push the boundaries of AI in healthcare, it's crucial to stay engaged and open to new ideas. The journey ahead is challenging but holds immense promise for better health outcomes and a more equitable healthcare system.

#HealthcareInnovation #AIinHealthcare #FutureOfHealth #HealthEquity #theexponentialclub

References:

1. Accenture, "Artificial Intelligence: Healthcare’s New Nervous System"
2. Frost & Sullivan, "Telehealth to Reshape Global Healthcare Market"
3. Mordor Intelligence, "Remote Patient Monitoring Market - Growth, Trends, and Forecast (2023 - 2028)"
4. Drug Discovery Today, "Impact of AI on Drug Discovery and Development"
5. Grand View Research, "Autonomous AI and Autonomous Agents Market Report 2030"