Artificial intelligence (AI) has been making headlines in all industries. Its rapid implementation and improvement are at the forefront of everyone’s thoughts, and the healthcare industry is no exception. AI’s ability to quickly analyze patient data has many beneficial applications, including preventative care.
Preventative care is one of the most important healthcare sectors, as it literally saves lives by reversing or deterring preventable conditions, symptoms, and diseases, including chronic ones. However, it’s also a tricky science; many factors can reduce a preventative care plan’s effectiveness. For example, patients and providers may not recognize signs and symptoms immediately, patients may forget to take medications, and physician burnout and overworking may lead to a delay in care. AI-driven solutions can reduce the prevalence of these issues and make preventative care much more effective.
AI Wearable Technology
Wearable health technology isn’t new, but it’s come a long way since it was first implemented. Wearables can effectively track heart rate, blood pressure, SpO2, sleep, physical activity, and more. AI can utilize this data to find patterns that can prevent or detect the signs and symptoms of certain conditions like heart attack, stroke, sleep apnea, and more. Real-time feedback can help patients adjust their lifestyle and stay connected to their doctors around the clock much easier. AI wearables can also help patients tailor their fitness routines to suit their individual needs and vitals better. AI technology has the potential to alert emergency services if crises are detected as well.
Predictive AI in Patient Care
Patients come with a vast amount of data—their medical histories, current symptoms, vital signs, and more. This data can take a lot of time for doctors to sort through, especially when they have many other patients. AI can sort and summarize data instantly, allowing physicians to easily detect patterns or red flags that can indicate potential health conditions. AI can also analyze the risk of a patient developing certain conditions based on their data instantly, allowing physicians to act fast to create a healthcare plan to prevent or treat them. Fast and early action is the key to preventing the development or worsening of many diseases, like cancer.
Nutrition Automation
Diet plays a major role in health, including the prevention of conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer, eating disorders, and many more. A poor diet can exacerbate existing conditions or lead to new ones. A healthy, balanced, nutrient-dense diet is one of the best ways to keep bodies healthy. AI automation, with the supervision of physicians and nutritionists, can allow patients to receive tailored nutrition plans based on their medical history, including allergies and dietary restrictions. It’s often difficult for patients to know which foods are healthier for their bodies, especially when grocery stores are packed with processed foods and confusing ingredient labels. This AI tech can be implemented into nutrition apps, software, or wearable technology to make healthy diets more accessible and easier than ever. Parents will be able to reach for healthy dried fruit snacks as a sweet treat instead of processed candy. Patients with arthritis will know the best foods to eat to reduce and prevent excess inflammation. Balanced diets are a breeze with instant, automated meal plans, ingredient analyses, and snack recommendations.
Virtual Health Chatbots
Sometimes, health conditions or concerns won’t wait until business hours. Urgent care and ER visits can help patients with urgent matters, but these visits can cost a lot of money for those with less pressing needs. AI chatbots trained with medical and patient data can help provide 24/7 basic care for patients who have questions about their health outside of clinic hours. These chatbots or applications can help provide tailored reminders to patients to take medications, stay active, and eat nutritiously. When physician-approved and trained AI is available all the time, patients are more likely to remain engaged with their healthcare plan.
Smart Pharmacies
AI’s data analyzing and automation skills have a lot of power in pharmaceutical settings, too. For patients taking prescriptions, AI can provide automated prescription refill notifications to patients and physicians, reminders to take medication, and side effect tracking. AI can also use prescription and patient health data to provide tailored advice on managing health better to prevent diseases. Patients can use “smart” medication dispensers with an AI that detects when doses have been forgotten or skipped, allowing for better adherence to treatment plans. This detection technology is particularly important with life-saving medications such as antibiotics, nitroglycerin for heart attacks, and chemotherapy. AI in the pharmaceutical sector can keep patients healthier.
Conclusion
Artificial intelligence is rapidly improving and expanding into many sectors of healthcare. Preventative care is one of the most important aspects of the healthcare system, and AI automation and analytics are making it easier than ever for both patients and physicians. Wearable technology, smart medication dispensers, virtual healthcare AI, personalized nutrition, and predictive technology are just a handful of the many ways that AI technology is revolutionizing preventative care for good. While AI will always need physician supervision and training, it can help reduce physician workloads while improving patient care and connection immensely.
