Conor Stewart
Research expert covering health & pharmaceuticals in the UK & Europe
AI in healthcare - statistics & facts
Artificial intelligence (AI) in a broader sense denotes a machine or computer which can replicate the competencies of the human brain, and therefore can learn, think, and make decisions or actions based on learned past experiences. The use of AI in healthcare can therefore be of use to analyze medical data, and act on this with the purpose of predicting an outcome. The application of AI in healthcare will become greater in future as the importance of this technology is realized. The technology has the potential to lead to more accurate diagnoses, better care, and less time spent by healthcare professionals on administrative tasks which in turn enables more time spent on interacting and treating patients.
Current situation
In 2021, the AI in healthcare market was worth over 11 billion U.S. dollars worldwide, with a forecast for the market to reach around 188 billion U.S. dollars by 2030. Furthermore, as of 2021, around a fifth of healthcare organizations worldwide were in early-stage initiatives of using artificial intelligence in their organizations. While a further quarter of hospitals and health systems reported to be in the pilot stage of rolling out artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies. The most common types of AI software in use in healthcare worldwide in 2021 was healthcare data integration and natural language processing.How is AI in healthcare perceived?
The number one concern, according to a survey carried out in the United States, surrounding the increased usage of AI in healthcare was threats to security and privacy. Other ethical concerns included safety issues and the potential of the AI being taken over by malicious entities. In Europe, a survey found that patients would be most trustful of AI being used in combination with expert judgements rather than decisions made purely by AI. Although, in comparison to the concerns expressed by some potential patients, the majority of health executives believed that investment in AI will lead to both improved health outcomes and patient experience in hospitals and other healthcare settings.
