Don’t worry: this first paragraph was not written by ChatGPT. But several curious reporters and writers have used the newest application to trick their audience, all amazed at the tool’s ability to talk about nearly anything. ChatGPT is an example of generative artificial intelligence (AI), which allows users to write questions and receive human-like responses.
ChatGPT’s uses are not limited to journalism, however. It can create code for app developers who are stuck, help teachers break classes into study groups, provide step-by-step instructions on changing a tire, give ideas on how to propose, and much more. It can also be used in healthcare.
Because ChatGPT doesn’t require any code or computer science knowledge, anyone who has used search engines like Google can make a free login and start playing with the tool right here.
AI might sound like a topic from the future, but it was first created for a mathematical program in 1956 that proved theorems – a statement that can be proved true through logic. According to IBM, AI is simply the combination of computer science and robust datasets to solve problems.
You’ve already been using AI for years, possibly without realizing it: unlocking your phone through face ID, asking Alexa to adjust your room temperature, getting recommended a show on Netflix, and enhancing the grammar and writing of this very article.
If AI makes your daily routine easier, it can help your doctor provide better care. And rather than a scary concept, it might soon be as natural as having your thermostat turn on just a few minutes before you return home from work.
At Wellstar, AI is already used to help detect lung cancers. The VizPE, a product from VizAI, alerts physicians about scans that may contain nodules and allows treatment of pulmonary embolism to begin sooner. This means the tool can spot signs of cancer before patients feel the symptoms – even if they came to Wellstar for a different reason.
While AI won’t replace your doctor, it can help them spot patterns not immediately visible to the human eye. This is possible because VizPE has been trained with millions of data points from other lung scans. The early detection it allows can be lifesaving.
These AI tools free time so physicians can focus on what matters the most: caring for you and other patients. ChatGPT and similar systems can perform tasks such as scheduling appointments, assisting with recordkeeping, helping patients keep track of their medications and performing remote patient monitoring.
When developing new drugs or conducting clinical trials, AI can also help by solving data challenges in these fields.
But how about the AI we see as the villain in science fiction? It’s important to note that all AI currently used in the real world is known as narrow AI or “weak AI.” This type of AI can perform only one specific task or a small set of tasks (Melanie Mitchell, 2019). This AI doesn’t perform tasks outside its programming, as its information comes from specific data sets. Narrow AI cannot think or be self-aware: it only retrieves existing information from places like Google. In other words, AI like HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey doesn’t currently exist.
Spoiler alert: your smart lock won’t “decide” to keep you out of your house in the rain – unless you forget to change its batteries.
We asked you: what are your thoughts on using ChatGPT and other forms of AI in healthcare?
When a loved one is hospitalized, we often wish we could do more for them. We are constantly searching for more information to understand what the patient is going through and when they can go home.
Artificial intelligence (AI) has been helping provide more information to our team members on the frontlines – and saving lives right here at Wellstar.
The Epic Deterioration Index (EDI) alerts physicians and staff when a patient’s score falls below a certain level. This score takes into account vital signs, lab results, nursing assessments and other data points.
Think of it as a progress report card your child brings home from school. Those grades indicate areas the student needs to focus on and improve over the next few months. In healthcare, however, decisions must be taken in moments, which is where the EDI is helpful.
The EDI can analyze and summarize all data into information that enables physicians to act faster and save lives. Scores are calculated every 15 minutes throughout the hospitalization, meaning that action can be taken immediately whenever a patient crosses the acceptable threshold in any of these periods.
While your student trying to understand Newton’s laws of motion may go weeks without an update on their grade, care teams receive an alert in minutes if patients start showing warning signs.
“We have rolled it out at Wellstar Kennestone Hospital. It’s doing really well. We’re going to look at other predictive models that we can roll out, especially as we build our own capabilities with data science,” said Brent Matthewson, VP, Chief Data Officer at Wellstar Health System.
For Brent, this model and other forms of AI allow hospitals to be proactive rather than reactive. The advantages are threefold.
“People live better lives, have better outcomes and it reduces costs,” he said.
AI will not replace your care team, but it can build confidence in the next treatment steps. For patients, this means that they’re constantly monitored for changes in their health state. Families can rest easier, knowing that their loved one is never away from receiving the treatment they need, when they need it.
One study by LeeAnna Spiva, Ph.D., AVP, Nursing Practice and Operations, and other colleagues shows that nurses who are more confident evaluating patients with deteriorating conditions were able to improve outcomes by intervening sooner.
How do you see tools like EDI benefiting patients at Wellstar and across other hospitals? Let us know your thoughts and questions below.
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What products or apps using AI could be created or made more widely available to help people living with disabilities? Share your thoughts.
