CMOs Predict Widespread Artificial Intelligence Uptake in 2024

With the federal government starting to shape guidance for AI, healthcare organizations are forging ahead with the technology.

Artificial intelligence will take hold in healthcare in 2024, a pair of chief medical officers say.

President Joe Biden recently made an executive order on AI to promote the safe, secure, and trustworthy use of the technology. While the executive order did not provide details on healthcare guidelines for AI, healthcare executives expressed cautious optimism about the government's approach to the technology.

Looking ahead to 2024, healthcare is going to continue to see clinicians embrace and get more comfortable with AI to ease workflows, boost the flow of patient and provider data, and improve quality of care and outcomes, says Peggy Duggan, MD, executive vice president, chief physician executive, and chief medical officer of Tampa General Hospital.

"The important steel thread here is the 'why,' which for our physicians and team members at Tampa General Hospital is the delivery of the highest quality care possible," she says.

Clinical documentation is an example of a key area for AI adoption, Duggan says. There is a lot of work physicians do that is not value added but is required to advance care, so incorporating AI into documentation continues to offer an opportunity to free up clinicians to spend more time with patients and directly provide care, she says.

Managing data is another area where AI can boost healthcare, Duggan says. "It's critical that provider-level data flows freely, as well as patient and system-wide data, so AI will be able to help us identify more opportunities to improve patient care," she says.

In 2024, AI will be used more frequently to guide clinical decision-making, Duggan says.

"At Tampa General Hospital, we are already piloting data-driven technology that supports the proper choice of antibiotics and pathways that prompt when antibiotics can be decelerated," she says. "These are great tools to support our teams while ensuring that a large volume of data—especially at a large academic health system treating some of the most complex conditions—doesn't overshadow a salient data point, which could drive not only safer care but also the delivery of the right care at the right time."

AI is likely to make major advancements in healthcare next year, says Ghazala Sharieff, MD, MBA, corporate senior vice president and chief medical and operations officer for acute care at Scripps Health.

"We recently had a retreat with a two-hour session on AI. The radiologists are asking to use AI more as they are doing their diagnostic readings. Telemedicine made a big splash during the coronavirus pandemic, and AI is the next big thing for healthcare," she says.