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Doctors say AI won't replace healthcare workers, but it's already transforming how hospitals diagnose and treat patients
Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly being adopted by Illinois hospitals to reduce administrative burdens and give doctors more time for patient care. The roots of AI in medicine trace back to the 1956 Summer Dartmouth Conference, leading to early innovations like the chatterbot Eliza and the medical consultant INTERNIST-1. Today, these foundational concepts have evolved into numerous AI tools actively used in Illinois healthcare. For example, Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox employs AI software for rapid stroke clot detection. OSF HealthCare utilizes AI platforms for diagnosing diabetic retinopathy, assessing sepsis risk, and identifying patients who would benefit from end-of-life care discussions. Karen Harris, senior vice president and general counsel for the Illinois Health and Hospital Association, emphasizes that AI is a tool requiring careful, thoughtful deployment and human review at this stage, primarily excelling at reducing 'administrative burden.' Dr. Nirav Shah, associate chief medical informatics Officer at Endeavor Health, reports over 80 active AI tools and many more in development, aimed at addressing the national shortage of healthcare providers. He notes that providers typically spend two-thirds of their time on administrative tasks; AI can streamline processes like marketing, supply chain, emails, research, and patient documentation, thereby improving productivity and patient care. However, Dr. Kanan Modhwadia, a psychiatrist at Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital, highlights the critical need for providers to meticulously check and modify AI-generated notes for accuracy. She also points out that AI in psychiatry is in nascent stages because human connection is paramount in the field, a dimension AI cannot yet replicate, although therapeutic AI platforms are emerging. Silver Cross Hospital has also integrated CartoSound Sonata, an AI-powered tool, in its electrophysiology lab to enhance treatments for abnormal heart rhythms like atrial fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia. This technology quickly converts ultrasound images into precise 3D cardiac maps, resulting in shorter procedure times, greater accuracy, and reduced radiation exposure. Dr. R. Kannan Mutharasan, a cardiologist at Northwestern Medicine Palos Hospital, believes AI can revolutionize patient care. He points to AI-powered stethoscopes for classifying heart murmurs and improved diagnostics from AI-enhanced ECGs and echocardiograms. Mutharasan foresees AI predicting risks such as atrial fibrillation or weakened hearts and providing clinicians with accurate, timely care by accessing vast medical literature – an 'everything' perspective that even the most experienced human physicians cannot match. St. Mary’s Hospital in Kankakee and Saint Joseph Medical Center in Joliet use an AI-powered device in emergency and intensive care units for rapid and continuous detection of non-convulsive seizures, enabling quick, crucial decisions for patients, including children. Dr. Rameez Alasadi, an interventional gastroenterologist with Silver Cross Medical Group, likens AI-enhanced colonoscopies to a 'second set of eyes' for polyp detection, which is vital for cancer prevention. He anticipates future AI advancements in precisely biopsying suspicious areas in the gastrointestinal tract, although this capability is not yet fully developed.
Healthcare professionals warn against over-reliance on AI, emphasizing that complacency can lead to mistakes. Dr. Modhwadia stresses the need for proactive human thought and review, as patient care is fundamentally driven by human connection and empathy, which AI cannot reciprocate despite its ability to respond. Paradoxically, Dr. Mutharasan suggests that AI could eventually enhance the 'sacred interaction' between patients and providers by allowing technology to fade into the background, thereby elevating the human element inherent in patient care. This vision proposes AI as a means to foster deeper human connections by liberating healthcare workers from administrative tasks.