AI Forum Highlights Customization and Collaboration in Healthcare

Experts at the HIMSS AI Forum emphasize the importance of customizing AI solutions in healthcare.

Key Points

  • • AI solutions must be customized for healthcare organizations' unique needs.
  • • AI can help manage cognitive loads in clinical decision-making.
  • • The global workforce shortage in healthcare can be alleviated with AI.
  • • AI enhances, but does not replace, human interpretation in patient care.

At the HIMSS AI Forum in New York, experts discussed the strategic integration of AI in healthcare to enhance workforce efficiency and clinical decision support. Deepti Pandita, chief medical information officer at UC Irvine Health, emphasized that AI solutions must align with the unique characteristics of each healthcare organization, as a one-size-fits-all strategy may not be effective. She noted that the best AI tools are those that are low-risk and easy to implement, while high-risk solutions demand careful oversight and stakeholder engagement.

Cole Zanetti of Rocky Vista University also highlighted the necessity of applying AI to reduce cognitive burdens in clinical environments where decision-making pressures are high. He pointed out that AI should target specific issues rather than aim for perfection, ensuring it adds real value to healthcare professionals.

Anne Snowden, chief research officer at HIMSS, addressed the urgent global workforce shortages facing the healthcare sector and the potential for AI to mitigate these challenges. Furthermore, Roy Ziegelstein, a cardiologist, asserted that while AI can assist in providing critical data for clinicians, it cannot substitute the essential human interpretation required in patient care. He stressed the importance of making information accessible at the point of care, which empowers clinicians to apply it effectively and minimize mistakes. The forum underscored the necessity of collaboration between AI technologies and healthcare professionals to improve patient care outcomes.