Healthcare AI Agents: The Future of Medicine?

In October 2024, Microsoft unveiled new healthcare AI tools that include a service that helps healthcare organizations build their own AI agents that could be used for appointment scheduling, clinical trial matching and patient triage.

"The biggest threat to workers is not exploitation but irrelevance." – Yuval Noah Harari

Keeping up with Sam Altman and his group of "tech bros" might feel tough, but it’s something we can’t ignore. AI is advancing quickly and changing how we live and work, bringing big risks and opportunities. Some worry AI could get out of control, while others fear it might take away jobs. These issues are too important to overlook. We need to understand what’s happening and get involved to make sure the future works for everyone and doesn’t leave people behind.

Experts say we’re now at level 2 in the development of healthcare AI, and level 3 is coming soon. Right now, AI can handle tasks like reading medical images, organizing paperwork, and helping doctors make decisions. But level 3 will be a big step forward, with AI not just helping but also diagnosing, predicting health issues, and creating personalized treatments. This could transform healthcare, making it faster and better for patients, but it also raises important questions about privacy, ethics, and how much control humans should keep.

What are these levels?

Level 1: Chatbots(Early ChatGPT)

Level 2: Reasoners(GPT-4)

Level 3: Agents( Emerging models)

Level 4: Innovators( a.i that invents)

Level 5: Organizations( A.I that runs companies)

What are healthcare AI agents?

Healthcare AI agents are computer programs that use artificial intelligence to help with different tasks in medicine and healthcare. They analyze information, make decisions, and support doctors, patients, or office staff. These AI tools come in various forms, like virtual assistants, chatbots, or systems for diagnosis and prediction.

Here are some examples of what they can do:

• Virtual Assistants: Help patients book appointments, remind them to take medicine, or answer health questions.
• Diagnostic Tools: Look at medical images, like X-rays or MRIs, to find health problems.
• Predictive Analytics: Spot people at risk of diseases, like heart problems, by studying their medical history.
• Administrative Support: Handle tasks like billing, record-keeping, or paperwork.
• Personalized Medicine: Suggest treatments based on a person’s unique health data, like their genes or lifestyle.

According to Dataconomy, AI has great potential in medical diagnostics. By using machine learning, AI can look at medical images like X-rays, MRIs, and CT scans quickly and accurately. This helps doctors spot problems like tumors or abnormalities that might be missed otherwise. Early detection of diseases through AI can improve patient health, raise survival rates, and ease the strain on healthcare systems.

AI can also help create personalized medicine, where treatments are designed for each person based on their genetics, lifestyle, and medical history. By analyzing large amounts of data, AI can find the best treatment options and predict how a person might respond to certain therapies. In surgery, AI can improve the effectiveness of treatments, reduce side effects, and lead to better patient outcomes and satisfaction.

In the next edition of our newsletter, we take a deep dive into healthcare agents and their likely impact on healthcare systems.