100 When the uncle of Dr. David Rhew’s co-worker visited the emergency department with severe abdominal pain, he received a scan which picked up a stomach aneurysm. However, he died untreated in the emergency room not long after arrival. Why? His scan was one of many in a large pile waiting to be read by the radiologist. This tragedy sparked a question for Rhew: could the outcome have been different if the hospital was using AI? “If we were to replace the radiologist with AI it likely would have made no difference, but if we were to use AI to read the scan and flag it as urgent, the radiologist could have intervened and perhaps my co-worker’s uncle would still be alive,” explains Rhew, Microsoft's global chief medical officer and vice president of healthcare, health and life sciences. For Rhew, situations like this illustrate why it is essential for healthcare providers to explore the potential of AI. “Today, we wait for people to feel unwell and visit a healthcare provider, but clinician shortages, limited resources, inefficient processes and various other barriers mean patients often wait a long time to receive adequate care – or perhaps never get seen,” says Rhew. “By using AI, we can evolve how providers operate to significantly improve the quality of care we deliver.” AI can quickly analyse vast volumes of healthcare data and evaluate current systems to find operational inefficiencies, bottlenecks in workflows and other issues, says Rhew. “This highlights opportunities to optimise resources, cut costs and boost the productivity and effectiveness of medical professionals, while enhancing the Does AI live up to the hype in healthcare? Microsoft’s Dr. David Rhew explains how the technology can help with everything from expediting diagnoses to increasing operational efficiencies BY REBECCA GIBSON FEATURE with outcomes healthcare AI Improving
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