Doctors, Medicines, Patients, and Artificial intelligence (AI)

A spaceship landed on earth and the commander sent out his little green men to investigate the creatures that humans referred to as 'doctors'.

A few days later the aliens reported back to the spaceship. 'So, what do you think?' asked the commander.

'From our study of the activities of the specimens called "doctors", they declared, 'this is our conclusion. Most Doctors are men who put medicines of which they know little, to cure diseases of which they know less, in human beings of whom they know nothing.'

Criticism of Medical Practice

This quote, often attributed to the French philosopher Voltaire, criticizes the medical practice of doctors prescribing medications with limited understanding, to treat illnesses about which they have even less knowledge, in patients whose individual complexities they may not fully grasp; essentially highlighting a potential gap between medical knowledge and its application in real patients. 

Though the quote reflects a time when medical knowledge was less advanced and the practice of medicine was often based on limited scientific evidence, the fact remains even today that the busy doctors do not always fully understand the unique characteristics of each patient they are treating. 

Also, the skepticism that Voltaire expressed about the level of understanding doctors might have regarding both the medications and diseases they treat, is still valid. 

"Medicine has become inhuman, to disastrous effect. The doctor-patient relationship–the heart of medicine–is broken: doctors are too distracted and overwhelmed to truly connect with their patients, and medical errors and misdiagnoses abound."

These words are of Eric Topol, MD, a world-renowned cardiologist, Executive Vice-President of Scripps Research, founder of a new medical school and one of the top ten most cited medical researchers. In his new book 'Deep Medicine' the leading physician reveals how the awesome power of Artificial Intelligence can make medicine better.

Image Courtesy: drerictopol.com 

AI Transforming Healthcare

In  'Deep Medicine', Eric talks about the Fourth Industrial Age, revolving around AI, Robotics, and Big Data - a revolution that will overtake every human endeavor. In the forward to the book, Abraham Verghese, MD, Department Of Medicine, Stanford University, says:

"Medicine itself is at a moment of crisis. As a profession, for all the extraordinary advances in the art and science of medicine in the last four decades, we have too often failed our patients. We fail to follow proven guidelines, and we fail in the art by not seeing the unique 'person' in front of us. We know their genome, but by not 'listening' to their story, we don't register their broken heart. We fail to see the neurofibroma that are raising lumps all over their skin, a finding that is relevant to their paroxysmal hypertension but that does need the gown to come off during the exam, does need our attention to be on the body and not on the screen; we miss the incarcerated hernia that explains an elderly patient's vomiting and have to wait for an expensive CAT scan and a radiologist to tell us what was before our eyes."

Artificial intelligence (AI) is now both advanced enough and accessible enough that a wide range of individuals and industries are making use of it. 

AI is being successfully applied in a variety of fields, including Customer service, Manufacturing, Finance, Education, and Healthcare. 

Today, AI is helping doctors enhance patient treatment – by analyzing vast patient datasets to recommend personalized treatment plans, optimizing medication dosages, and predicting potential adverse reactions, all based on the individual.

This comprehensive article AI-powered Healthcare: Breaking Barriers and Transforming Lives explains the role of AI in healthcare and how it is reshaping the future of the healthcare industry.