From Idea to Execution: Healthcare Gets Real About AI

Healthcare leaders can’t stop talking about artificial intelligence, and these conversations will continue as pilot programs start bearing fruit.

AI use cases were highlighted throughout last year’s industry events, including ViVE and HIMSS. As HLTH President Rich Scarfo put it: “Last year, AI was a buzzword. This year, it’s still a buzzword, but it’s very real.”

Interest in AI-powered solutions has also meant that organizations are steadily re-evaluating their approach to data. Healthcare organizations have a lot of data, but turning that data into actionable insights remains a major challenge. In order for these AI solutions to become a worthwhile investment for organizations, they’ll need to ensure their data strategies work together with their plans for AI.

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A 2024 CHIME report found that only about half of healthcare organizations have a clear AI strategy and leadership support. “To achieve optimal results, they need strong data governance, data quality, privacy and security measures, and proper staff training,” write CDW Healthcare Strategists Lee Pierce and Ben Sokolow in a recent white paper on data and AI.

In this special issue covering AI and its use cases in healthcare, we share stories from healthcare leaders across different sectors and highlight what other organizations can learn from them.

Bringing AI From Buzzword to Use Case

Before reading about AI use cases, dive into related topics such as retrieval-augmented generation and AIOps.

Next, we look at AI in the senior care space. Organizations such as Cypress Living are supporting their care teams by assigning administrative tasks to generative AI or using it to detect falls among residents.

Another story examines the use of AI and machine learning in radiology, particularly why these solutions are needed to parse important medical imaging and diagnostics.

AI still has room to grow, and healthcare organizations will continue to adopt solutions to transform their approach to care.

RYAN PETERSEN

Follow Ryan @RyanPete