Artificial Intelligence

Advances in AI are increasingly being used to transform every facet of health care – such as improving accuracy of medical imaging and diagnoses, making coverage decisions, managing provider workflow, and speeding research and development of new treatments – and are having a substantial direct and indirect impact on patients. AI has the potential to dramatically improve health care research, delivery, and access for patients, but only if it is implemented in a careful and responsible manner that accounts for and minimizes its risks.

AI holds tremendous promise to help increase the quality, efficiency, and equity of care. However, there is also tremendous potential for pitfalls that can harm patients, such as automating insurance coverage decisions and removing provider and patient expertise from that process. One significant concern is the ongoing issues of developing AI that could amplify existing biases in the health care system. The data and technology used to develop and operationalize AI needs to be as free of bias as possible, otherwise existing health inequities will be further embedded in care.

The NHC calls for developers, manufacturers, practitioners, patients, policymakers, regulators, and other stakeholders to engage and collaborate to continuously improve the safety and quality of AI technologies as technology evolves. To fully realize AI’s promise and minimize its pitfalls means that AI use in health care must elevate and reflect the interests, concerns, and perspectives of patients as part of a collaborative approach. All stakeholders must be a part of the future of AI in health care, but at the very forefront must be the patient community.