AI Medical Takeover

[medDawgbruh]

I’ve heard a lot from Artificial Intelligence-enthusiasts that it will change modern medicine and possibly make some specialties obsolete (e.g. radiology). I’m curious what everyone’s thoughts are. Will there be some specialties that dissolve/shrink because of AI or will we simply need to know how to harness it in every role?

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[RockClimberMed]

According to @voxveritatisetlucis we will all be out jobs next year unless youre a surgeon. Might as well withdraw rn

 

[Med Ed]

How IBM’s Watson Went From the Future of Health Care to Sold Off for Parts

Casey Ross on where Watson went wrong and how the industry can learn from IBM’s mistakes.

slate.com

"When you try to combine the bravado of the tech culture and the notion that you can achieve these huge audacious goals in a domain where you’re dealing with people’s lives and health and the most sacrosanct aspects of their existence and their bodies, you need to have evidence to back up that you can do what you say you can do."

 

[Goro]

I’ve heard a lot from Artificial Intelligence-enthusiasts that it will change modern medicine and possibly make some specialties obsolete (e.g. radiology). I’m curious what’s happening behind everyone’s thoughts are. Will there be some specialties that dissolve/shrink because of AI or will we simply need to know how to harness it in every role?

I've been hearing this for 40+ years, except it used to be "computers" barking at the doors.

 

[wysdoc]

I've been hearing this for 40+ years, except it used to be "computers" barking at the doors.

Me too, computers would do the jobs all our office staff was doing. But that didn’t happen.
Heard of the “Millennium bug” panic?

 

[pedneuro6894]

I think it would be foolish of us as a human species to not bring AI to the medical field, but it definitely won't replace anyone. I've done a very small amount of research on this, specifically in the radiology world, and the studies I read show AI and humans being on a similar detection percentage level, with the combination of AI + humans being the best.

This goes for every specialty. In my head, I could easily see ER docs, primary care docs, etc., using AI to help create differentials, maybe keeping them from missing something they weren't thinking of. Surgeons could use AI to help with robotic surgery and possibly even with mid-surgery direction. The list goes on. I could be crazy, but I just can't see how it wouldn't help

 

[Hollow Knight]

There's just no way. Until they create an AI that can think and reason. But at that point we'll have to give the AI voting rights and whatever.

Literally a conversation I had with a patient today (details changed of course)

Me: "Mam, tell me about your knee pain."

Patient: "Well back in my day in the 80s I'd always get a rash when I ate Greek food........"

Like what is Chat GPT suppose to do with that?

 

[Hollow Knight]

I think it would be foolish of us as a human species to not bring AI to the medical field, but it definitely won't replace anyone. I've done a very small amount of research on this, specifically in the radiology world, and the studies I read show AI and humans being on a similar detection percentage level, with the combination of AI + humans being the best.

This goes for every specialty. In my head, I could easily see ER docs, primary care docs, etc., using AI to help create differentials, maybe keeping them from missing something they weren't thinking of. Surgeons could use AI to help with robotic surgery and possibly even with mid-surgery direction. The list goes on. I could be crazy, but I just can't see how it wouldn't help

I'm hoping by the time I'm out of residency I'll have an AI scribe. I already know attendings who do, so hopefully the tech will be refined enough before I'm out that it's just plug and play. That'll be a game changer.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

If it doesn't go there automatically, start at 26 minutes. Watch the Palantir section too.

 

[catalyst1000]

I'm hoping by the time I'm out of residency I'll have an AI scribe. I already know attendings who do, so hopefully the tech will be refined enough before I'm out that it's just plug and play. That'll be a game changer.

Scribes of America already offers this and apparently it works very well.

 

[Rachapkis]

Technological advances typically eliminate some jobs but create others (often increasing overall employment). The key to survival is being willing and able to adapt when your current position is going the way of the foxtrot. In any case, I would view claims that no one will have a job in [timeframe here] with a healthy dose of skepticism.

 

[LizzyM]

Technological advances typically eliminate some jobs but create others (often increasing overall employment). The key to survival is being willing and able to adapt when your current position is going the way of the foxtrot. In any case, I would view claims that no one will have a job in [timeframe here] with a healthy dose of skepticism.

Absolutely! Early in my career I met many senior pulmonologists who trained with the expectation that they would be caring for patients who were living the rest of their lives in iron lungs. Then the polio vaccine came along (a tech advance) in 1955 and that work dried up. Same with pharmacologic treatments for TB. Those guys had to retool and find other things to do within medicine. On the other hand, there are many chronic conditions that today are chronic that were relatively acute and often fatal 40 years ago (e.g. HIV/AIDS, some heart attacks, etc).

 

[stew_md]

I'm hoping by the time I'm out of residency I'll have an AI scribe. I already know attendings who do, so hopefully the tech will be refined enough before I'm out that it's just plug and play. That'll be a game changer.

The clinic I work at is trialing an AI scribe, and it's magical. The doctors who have used it say it reduces charting time substantially. This is the type of value that AI will bring to the medical profession over the next few decades I believe. It will be a LONG time before AI will replace an entire specialty in my opinion.

An AI can only do what you tell it to do, we humans need to continue to make scientific discoveries and understand a lot more nuances of medicine before it can become automated.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

 

[FlowRate]

A lot of the "LLM is better than doctors" stuff are tested on test questions/clinical vignettes, but don't involve all of the additional messy realities of actual clinical care. Maybe we get to a point where AI will be able to take a good history, provide empathic reflection and help calm patients, etc. but I think non-procedural fields will still have a lot of value with the physician being key to integrating AI supports, doing the history taking, being able to do an exam, or provide therapeutic interaction in a way that I doubt AI ever will.