Health IT
Are we missing the mark with generative AI?
The American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) 25×5 Task Force was established in 2022 with the goal of reducing clinician documentation burden by 25 percent in 5 years. Recently, the task force found that “organizational efforts to address documentation burden … were all focused on documentation creation, not on information retrieval.” Similarly, much of the early hype surrounding large language models (LLMs) and generative …
Navigating subpoenas and EHR integration
What do you do if you get an administrative or court subpoena to produce “all” medical records on one or more patients? Are you sure that your electronic medical records can even create a true “legal” chart? With everything recorded chronologically? How would you know if something was left out?
And if you get an administrative or court subpoena for “all” medical records, what does that mean? What about access logs …
The clinical AI revolution: 3 things to know
The use of natural language processing (NLP) in the clinical domain dates as far back as the 1960s, with important early work performed in the 1970s and 1980s. While great technical advances were made during this period, clinical NLP failed to live up to initial expectations as accuracy rates were too low to use for much other than research or bulk analytics.
An AHIMA article explained why clinical text …
Why I left medicine – and why AI might convince me to return
My first job as a physician assistant was in a neuro-oncology department. I was young, newly certified, and eager to interact with patients. The physician who mentored me there made sure I had the opportunity to counsel patients, and provide guidance and comfort after a new diagnosis. These are situations where a clinician needs time and space to be empathetic.
On one occasion, I spent nearly 45 minutes in the exam …
ChatGPT: Charting the future of health care with visionary AI
As technology advances, the health care sector perennially seeks innovative solutions to enhance patient care, diagnostic capabilities, and accessibility. OpenAI’s ChatGPT-4, with its pioneering vision feature, has emerged as a potentially transformative tool, enabling myriad applications that traverse beyond textual interactions and delve deeply into the visual realm.
Elevating user interactivity in health care consultations. They were integrating visual capabilities in ChatGPT-4 ushers …
Generative AI’s impact on patient care [PODCAST]
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes!
Join Shiv Rao, a cardiologist and physician executive, as we delve into the transformative potential of generative AI in health care. We’ll discuss how generative AI can help doctors eliminate distractions, improve patient care, and enhance the …
Bridging disciplines: the unseen power of bilingualism in AI and health care
In the bustling corridors of medical facilities, a new language is quietly making its presence known, intertwining with the traditional vocabulary of health care professionals. This language, artificial intelligence (AI), is not spoken in words but in algorithms and data, reshaping the health care landscape in unprecedented ways. The University of Texas at San Antonio has perceptively recognized this evolution, launching a pioneering dual-degree program that intertwines medicine and AI, …
I’m tired of being a distracted doctor
As I pull into clinic, my intention is always the same: be fully present with each patient. By the time I’m two patients in, the reality is always different.
We’ve all read the mindfulness quotes about the virtues of being “in the moment,” but somewhere after the first couple visits of the day we face a decision—to shift our attention away from patients and toward the computer screen with the aspiration …
AI-driven diagnostics and beyond
Years from now, the notion of simple telemedicine will seem quaint. Keep in mind that as recently as a decade ago, most physicians would have denied that telemedicine could ever play a role in the medical profession. Physicians would have argued that this would dismantle the fundamental unit of medical care – the in-person office visit.
Physicians would have rigidly maintained that they had to be face-to-face with their patients. Doctors …
The need for adaptability is imperative in the era of artificial intelligence
In a world increasingly dominated by technology and artificial intelligence (AI), adaptability is no longer just a desirable trait—it’s a necessity. Leon C. Megginson’s insightful quote, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change,” serves as a timely reminder of this reality. This article explores why adaptability is crucial, especially in the …
Navigating post-COVID IT challenges [PODCAST]
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes!
Join Mike Hines, an evangelist at Resolute Software, to explore the transformative impact of COVID-19 on the IT landscape. We discuss the rapid shifts in remote interactions, the emergence of technical debt, and the challenges faced by …
Leveraging ChatGPT’s high IQ to assist doctors
The advent of artificial intelligence (AI) has brought about significant advancements in various fields, including health care. ChatGPT, developed by OpenAI, is one such AI that has shown great promise in assisting professionals, particularly doctors, in their daily tasks. This article will discuss the average human IQ, the estimated IQs of notable individuals, the average IQ of doctors, the IQ of ChatGPT, its strengths and limitations, and how it can …
How the 3 laws of thermodynamics illuminate the pathways of health care and AI
The principles governing the universe are not confined to physics and chemistry. In health care, a field that profoundly examines life’s intricacies, we find parallels with the three laws of thermodynamics. This article unveils these connections, offering a physician’s insights into the applications of these principles in patient care, medical innovation, and the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in health care.
The First Law of Thermodynamics: energy conservation
Thermodynamic principle: Energy in …
The future of medicine: Advancements and greed collide
In the future, I foresee a world without pandemics, cancer becoming a thing of the past, and advancements that enable bionic adaptations to our bodies, leading to a life expectancy of easily over one hundred years.
While some of these advancements may seem distant, we are on the cusp of making them a reality within the next few decades. However, it’s essential to question whether human greed could hinder technological progress, …
Improving patient and population health insight through next-generation tokenization of real-world data
Big Data in health care has the potential to drastically improve patient-level insights when combined with personalized patient data. Understanding a patient’s whole health journey is critical to conducting impactful research, making the right diagnosis, clinical decision support, and securing health equity for individuals and communities; however, the ability to uncover actionable insights from Big Data can prove to be elusive. To harness the full potential of Big Data, stakeholders …
Harnessing the power of code interpreters in health care: a look at ChatGPT’s new feature and HIPAA compliance
In the rapidly evolving health care landscape, artificial intelligence (AI) is making significant strides, transforming how we approach patient care, medical research, and health care operations. One such advancement is the introduction of code interpreters in AI systems, such as the one recently introduced in ChatGPT. This powerful feature opens up many …
How EHRs can impact climate change [PODCAST]
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes!
Join Earl Stewart, Jr., an internal medicine physician, as we discuss the critical need for electronic health record (EHR) systems to address the impact of climate change on patient health. Earl highlights the limitations of current EHRs …
AI in health care: Could it be an unexpected catalyst for physician burnout?
Artificial intelligence (AI) has rapidly ingratiated itself in the health care landscape, emerging as a powerful tool with the potential to revolutionize various aspects of clinical practice. From enhancing diagnostic precision to streamlining administrative workflows, AI is touted as a solution to many of health care’s long-standing inefficiencies. Yet, the transformative power of AI is a double-edged sword, and its integration may bear unintended repercussions for not …
Why oncology is ripe for digital innovation
In every aspect of our lives, whether it is online banking or shopping, we rely on technology to make things better, more convenient, and more efficient. Yet in health care, and particularly cancer care, that is not the case. Oncology has been revolutionized in recent decades by therapies targeted to specific biomarkers and immunotherapy. Despite being a leader in therapeutic innovation, oncology lags behind in adopting easy-to-use apps and other …
Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!
Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.