Abstract
Purpose
The main purpose of this study was to explore the perspectives of healthcare executives on Artificial Intelligence (AI)’s future applications and the associated benefits, challenges, and ethical considerations.
Methods
A qualitative study was conducted with 21 healthcare professionals. The participants were interviewed to gather their perceptions of AI and its impact on digital healthcare. The analysis focused on identifying the current applications of AI in healthcare and understanding the participants’ perspectives on its potential future applications. The study also aimed to identify the benefits, challenges, and ethical considerations associated with AI implementation in healthcare.
Results
The study revealed that AI is currently being used in personalized medicine, drug discovery, telemedicine, clinical decision support, medical treatments, and surgery. The participants recognized several benefits of AI implementation, including improved access to healthcare, increased efficiency and productivity, cost savings, and improved diagnostic accuracy. The participants expressed optimism about the future of AI in healthcare, particularly in enhancing patient outcomes through patient monitoring, early prevention detection, and reduced medical errors. However, the study also identified challenges and ethical considerations, such as technical adaptation, loss of managerial control, data privacy, and accountability.
Conclusions
The findings of this study highlighted the valuable insights provided by healthcare executives regarding the current and future applications of AI in healthcare. The results emphasized the need for addressing regulatory barriers, enhancing data availability, mitigating bias, and ensuring transparency in AI systems. Despite the identified challenges, the study concluded that AI has a significant demand and potential in the healthcare industry for the future.
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Funding
The authors declare that no funds, grants, or other support were received during the preparation of this manuscript. The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Aishwarya Sonawane, Shrushti Shah and Suyog Pote. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Aishwarya Sonawane and Mengying He commented on previous versions of the manuscript and revised the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. The authors affirm that human research participants provided informed consent for publication of the images in Figure(s) 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.
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Sonawane, A., Shah, S., Pote, S. et al. The application of artificial intelligence: perceptions from healthcare professionals. Health Technol. 13, 861–867 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12553-023-00780-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12553-023-00780-0