You may receive a call from an individual such as Ana the next time you are scheduled for a medical examination. This person is a pleasant voice who can assist you in preparing for your appointment and answering any urgent questions you may have.
Ana, like many nurses in the United States, has been trained to establish a safe environment for patients through her serene and friendly demeanor. However, she is also accessible to converse 24/7 in a variety of languages, including Haitian Creole and Hindi, in contrast to them.
This is due to the fact that Ana is not a human, but rather an artificial intelligence program developed by Hippocratic AI, one of several emerging companies that provide methods for automating time-consuming duties that are typically performed by nurses and medical assistants.
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The most apparent indication of AI’s penetration into the healthcare sector is the use of increasingly sophisticated computer programs by hundreds of hospitals to monitor patients’ vital signs, identify emergency situations, and initiate step-by-step action plans for care. These tasks were previously performed by nurses and other health professionals.
Hospitals assert that AI is facilitating the more efficient work of their nurses, while simultaneously addressing fatigue and understaffing. However, nursing unions contend that this technology, which is not well understood, is eclipsing the expertise of nurses and reducing the quality of care that patients receive.
Michelle Mahon of National Nurses United stated, “Hospitals have been anticipating the moment when they will have an alternative that appears to be sufficiently legitimate to replace nurses.” “The entire ecosystem is intended to automate, de-skill, and ultimately replace caregivers.”
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Mahon’s organization, the largest nursing union in the United States, has assisted in the organization of over 20 demonstrations at hospitals nationwide. The organization is advocating for the right of nurses to have a say in the use of AI and protection from discipline if they choose to disregard automated advice. In January, the group issued new alarms when Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the incoming health secretary, proposed that AI nurses could assist in the delivery of care in rural areas, stating that they were “as good as any doctor.” Dr. Mehmet Oz, who has been nominated to supervise Medicare and Medicaid, expressed his conviction that AI has the potential to “free doctors and nurses from all the paperwork” on Friday.
Hippocratic AI initially advocated for a rate of $9 per hour for its AI assistants, which is approximately $40 per hour for a registered nurse. It has since abandoned that language in favor of emphasizing its services and assuring customers that they have been meticulously examined. Requests for interviews were declined by the organization.
False alarms and hazardous recommendations may be generated by AI in the hospital.
Sensors, microphones, and motion-sensing cameras are among the technologies that hospitals have been experimenting with for years in order to enhance patient care and reduce expenses. Currently, data is being integrated with electronic medical records and analyzed to anticipate medical issues and guide the care of nurses, often prior to their own evaluation of the patient.
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Adam Hart was employed in the emergency room at Dignity Health in Henderson, Nevada, when the hospital’s computer system detected sepsis in a newly admitted patient, a life-threatening response to infection. According to the hospital’s protocol, he was required to administer a substantial quantity of intravenous fluids promptly. However, upon further investigation, Hart ascertained that he was administering treatment to a dialysis patient or an individual with renal failure. Careful management of these patients is necessary to prevent fluid overloading of their kidneys.
Hart expressed his apprehension to the nurse who was supervising him, but he was advised to adhere to the established protocol. The patient only began to receive a sluggish infusion of IV fluids after a nearby physician intervened.
Hart stated, “You are financially compensated as a nurse because you must maintain your critical thinking.” “It is reckless and perilous to relinquish control of our thought processes to these devices.”
Hart and other nurses assert that they comprehend the objective of AI: to facilitate the monitoring of numerous patients and the prompt resolution of issues. However, the actuality is frequently a deluge of erroneous alarms, which incorrectly identify fundamental bodily functions—such as a patient’s bowel movement—as emergencies.
Melissa Beebe, a cancer nurse at UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, stated, “You are attempting to concentrate on your work, but you are receiving a plethora of distracting alerts that may or may not have any significance.” “It is difficult to determine when it is accurate and when it is not due to the numerous false alarms.”
Is it possible for AI to provide assistance in the hospital?
According to Michelle Collins, the dean of Loyola University’s College of Nursing, even the most advanced technology will fail to detect indicators that nurses detect frequently, including facial expressions and aromas. However, individuals are not infallible.
According to Collins, it would be imprudent to disregard this matter entirely. “We should recognize the potential of this technology to enhance our care, but we must also exercise caution to ensure that it does not supplant the human element.”
One estimate indicates that the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the largest personnel reduction in 40 years, with over 100,000 nurses departing the workforce. The U.S. government anticipates that there will be over 190,000 new nursing job openings annually through 2032 as the U.S. population ages and nurses depart.
In response to this trend, hospital administrators perceive AI as playing a critical role in assisting nurses and physicians in the collection of information and communication with patients, rather than assuming responsibility for patient care.
“Occasionally, they converse with a human, and occasionally, they do not.”
Staff members at the University of Arkansas Medical Sciences in Little Rock are required to make hundreds of phone calls each week in order to prepare patients for surgery. Before administering anesthesia, nurses verify pertinent information regarding prescriptions, cardiac conditions, and other concerns, including sleep apnea.
The issue is that a significant number of patients only answer their phones in the evening, typically between the time their children go to bed and dinner.
Dr. Joseph Sanford, the center’s health IT director, stated, “We must devise a method to contact several hundred individuals within a 120-minute timeframe. However, I am adamant about not compensating my staff for overtime.”
The hospital has employed an AI assistant from Qventus since January to communicate with patients and health providers, transmit and receive medical records, and summarize their contents for human staff. According to Qventus, its technology is being implemented by 115 hospitals. The objective of this technology is to increase the profitability of hospitals by facilitating faster surgical turnarounds, reducing fatigue, and reducing the number of cancellations.
The program initiates each contact by identifying itself as an AI assistant.
“We are committed to maintaining complete transparency with our patients regarding the fact that they may communicate with a human being at times and not with another,” stated Sanford.
Although organizations such as Qventus offer administrative services, other AI developers envision a more significant function for their technology.
Xoltar, an Israeli startup, specializes in the development of human-like avatars that engage in video conversations with patients. The Mayo Clinic is collaborating with the company to develop an AI assistant that instructs patients on cognitive strategies for managing chronic pain. Additionally, The company is in the process of creating an avatar that will assist smokers in quitting. According to Xoltar, patients spend approximately 14 minutes conversing with the program during early testing, during which it is capable of interpreting facial expressions, body language, and other signals.
These programs may be effective for individuals who are relatively healthy and proactive in their care, according to nursing experts who specialize in AI. However, this is not the case for the majority of individuals within the healthcare system.
“The majority of health care expenditures in the United States are attributed to the very sick, and it is imperative that we evaluate whether chatbots are appropriate for this demographic,” stated Roschelle Fritz of the University of California Davis School of Nursing.
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