Trust, AI, and healthcare: navigating the nexus

Trust, AI, and healthcare: navigating the nexus

The term "artificial intelligence" (AI) is in frequent use in the media, on social media, and at conferences in every field. The healthcare industry is also not an exception. The floor at 2023 conferences like ViVE and HIMSS has been flooded with AI discussion, excitement, forecasts, and, of course, some reluctance and opposition. But regardless of your position, it's apparent that AI in healthcare is here and isn't going anywhere.

It is evident that health tech organizations have a duty to boost confidence in this industry, albeit exuberant debates are now tinged with aspects of suspicion. What therefore can we do to foster confidence in this technology that is developing so quickly? How can businesses demonstrate AI's value and, more critically, its dependability to patients and medical professionals?

In this post, we lay out 6 methods to counter the reluctance and resistance felt by some healthcare providers and patients while remaining honest and realistic about the expectations and restrictions of AI in the industry.

The value of fostering trust in the healthcare industry AI Trust.

Every relationship—with each other, with technology, with businesses and processes—is built on trust. Every time we board a plane, we put our trust in the pilots and the companies who make the aircraft. We also put our trust in banks to keep our money safe. None of these sectors could flourish without universal trust. The same holds true for healthcare.

Currently, we rely on medical professionals to make diagnoses, administer treatments, carry out procedures, counsel us on preventative care, and develop treatment programmes that are beneficial to our general health. However, a lot of these processes that formerly required only the expertise of the medical community can now be backed by reliable digital technologies because to the rapid breakthroughs in AI, machine learning (ML), and large language models (LLM). Therefore, we must establish trust in order to permit physicians to be assisted by AI and to accept the many advantages of fusing AI technology with healthcare, from better patient outcomes to greater access to healthcare and all in between.

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Users’ trust in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) is essential for it to effectively contribute to the user experience and accelerate the adoption of AI platforms in the healthcare sector. There are three basic pillars that contribute to trust, which include investing in user information/literacy, clear information on how AI works, transparency, creating continuous and accessible communication channels for users to provide feedback, and data protection/privacy, making it clear to the user how their data will be used by the AI. The application of these simple rules allows users to build the foundations of trust that over time will influence users' consumption habits and encourage continuous growth in the adoption of these technologies.

Nuno Caramelo

Chief Executive Officer, groupoGBI

Six stages to establishing confidence in healthcare artificial intelligence

It is the obligation of all companies that create and use AI-based solutions to build trust in AI. This comprises medtech companies like Infermedica, as well as telemedicine firms, health systems, providers, and insurers. Here are six strategies to build trust between patients and doctors.

1. Communicate clearly and honestly: Patients and physicians must understand how AI technologies work, as well as the benefits and restrictions they give. It's critical that healthcare organisations explain how an AI-powered solution makes its judgements, as well as where it gets its data. It is also critical that this explanation is written in simple terms that non-technologists can grasp.

2.Demonstrate effectiveness: Organisations can reduce resistance to AI in healthcare by utilising information gathered in reports, such as test cases, and providing data that demonstrates its effectiveness in improving patient outcomes, increasing organisational efficiency, lowering healthcare costs, and more. According to one study, 78% of medical workers saw workflow benefits using AI, while in another, the AI system was able to reliably diagnose breast cancer from mammograms with a sensitivity of around 90%, which was comparable to that of human radiologists.

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AI is no longer a futuristic notion confined to sci-fi movies nor a technology that's restricted to high-income countries. AI is improving access to healthcare, in our case it enables rapid and accurate assessment of patient conditions, helping healthcare providers prioritize and guide cases based on severity.

Fabian Eduardo Mu?oz

Healthcare Innovation Manager, Ultravioleta HealthTech

3.Prioritise safety and address privacy concerns: Before being used, AI technologies must be rigorously vetted to verify their safety. These experiments, evaluations, and conclusions should be communicated with physicians and patients to increase trust in AI's capabilities while also highlighting any remaining limitations. According to one survey, 52% of corporate leaders in the healthcare industry are concerned that AI in healthcare will pose security and privacy risks. Organizations must therefore demonstrate compliance with regulatory requirements such as GDPR and HIPAA for data protection and privacy, as well as ISO accreditations for regulated medical equipment.

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Building trust in healthcare was always challenging and now, more than ever, we know how important it is to deliver the highest treatment outcomes to patients. Yet, the huge medical needs of the population, the shortage of medical healthcare professionals, and a lack of time to talk peacefully and assist patients during the appointment, don't help in this area. On top of that, each individual medical professional attitude can make a significant difference in both directions.

People in need always seek understanding and empathy while expressing their health problems. How can we at Infermedica help? Besides the fact that our medical teams have spent over 84,000 hours producing a medical knowledge base of the highest quality, we also eagerly reap the benefits of AI technology to provide solutions where patients can express themselves accurately and with peace of mind. They don't have to be in a hurry ever again, they can focus on their problems and answer with confidence to get the most accurate results possible and so the medical professionals in charge can make the best of it during the visit.

We believe that combining constant proximity to the patients with offering up the highest quality product fulfills our great mission to make healthcare accessible to everyone in need.

Mateusz Palczewski, MD, PhD

Pediatric Surgeon & Head of Clinical Validation, Infermedica

4.Highlight patient experiences: Using reports and patient testimonials, demonstrate the real-world impact of AI-driven technologies on the patient experience and outcomes. In 78.6% of situations, users preferred chatbot responses over physician responses, according to a recent study. The study showed that AI-powered chatbots frequently outperformed clinicians in terms of quality and empathy. Highlighting data from reports like these and sharing real-life user stories like the one in the graphic below from Infermedica's AI-powered Symptomate application can help patients and physicians understand the benefits of AI.

5.Provide proper training: Training is essential when introducing any new technology. It is crucial in healthcare. Physicians must learn how to use growing digital solutions successfully and be confident that these technologies will make their lives simpler, not more difficult. Furthermore, organisations must advise patients on the best approach to connect with such technology, such as the effective use of symptom checkers, wearables, virtual consultations, and other tools. A 2023 research of physicians and medical students discovered that 82% of participants felt that with specialized training and seminars, they can begin using AI in their practice.

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AI is a tool to assist healthcare providers rather than replace them. AI recommendations are used to support the decision-making process, which is headed by physicians, and ultimately empower patients.

Fabian Eduardo Mu?oz

Healthcare Innovation Manager, Ultravioleta HealthTech

6.Maintain human touch: According to a recent survey, 57% of respondents stated that utilizing AI to diagnose ailments and prescribe treatments will harm the patient-provider connection. To address such prevalent feelings among consumers and providers, healthcare organizations must be honest about their use of AI and ensure patients and physicians understand that AI technologies are designed to augment, not replace, human care.

The next stage is to begin establishing trust with patients and the medical community. This is something that healthcare organizations, such as telemedicine firms, healthcare providers, and insurers, must do. This will be accomplished through open and honest discussion about their technologies, the degree to which AI is being deployed, and the drawbacks and dangers related to such technology