InterSystems, a major data management and healthcare information systems vendor over many decades, has joined the AI rush and is working on a step-by-step approach to making data more useful to healthcare systems through AI. In this video, Don Woodlock, Head of Global Healthcare Solutions, explains the evolution he’s seeing in the use of AI, and how AI providers can build trust.
Interoperability, as provided by InterSystems, is key to going beyond use of the individual patient record. There are a lot of great things data can do in the aggregate for research, population health, and more: “taking it to the next level.”
The most common use of AI at this early stage is in the many ambient voice recording solutions that create notes for charts. This was a natural first use of AI in health care, Woodlock points out, because it automates a function (medical scribe) that has been in use for decades. Furthermore, checking results for accuracy is easy because the note is reviewed by the clinician right after the visit.
The next step, Woodlock says, is represented by an AI agent provided now by InterSystems. It queries a patient’s chart to answer clinicians’ question. Each doctor, representing a particular specialty and purpose, can get information tailored to those needs using familiar language. But this application of AI requires more trust.
At first, doctors will do a lot of checking. But as the accuracy of AI results becomes accepted, the agent’s use will grow.
Another emerging use for AI is in the patient experience, making it easier and more pleasant for a patient to interact with the doctor and insurer, make sense of lab results, etc. Thus, at the beginning, the agent provides “just the facts”; eventually Woodlock expects it also to guide decision-making. This agent has proven very popular and easy to use without training.
Over the next couple years, agentic AI will help find a bed for a new patient, create a prior authorization request, and other such “administrivia of healthcare.” Woodlock says this development “gives AI arms and legs.” However, it needs yet more interoperability. When the many hospital systems that deal with patient needs get interconnected, AI will be able to solve these needs.
Check out our interview with Don Woodlock from InterSystems to learn more about the future of AI in healthcare and the recently launched InterSystems AI Assistant.
Learn more about InterSystems: https://www.intersystems.com/
Listen and subscribe to the Healthcare IT Today Interviews Podcast to hear all the latest insights from experts in healthcare IT.
And for an exclusive look at our top stories, subscribe to our newsletter and YouTube.
Tell us what you think. Contact us here or on Twitter at @hcitoday. And if you’re interested in advertising with us, check out our various advertising packages and request our Media Kit.
InterSystems is a proud sponsor of Healthcare Scene.
