The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) in health care offers unprecedented opportunities to improve patient and clinical team outcomes, reduce costs, and impact population health. However, it is imperative to balance the need for thoughtful, inclusive health care AI with potential unintended consequences, marketing hype, profit motives, potential user disillusionment, and exacerbation of existing health- and technology-driven disparities.
This new National Academy of Medicine Special Publication synthesizes current knowledge about the use of AI in health care, outlines the current and near-term solutions, highlights challenges and best practices, and identifies limitations of the technology. This Special Publication is viewed as a reference document for all stakeholders involved in AI, health care, or the intersection of the two, as we all move toward a future increasingly dependent on technology together. The Special Publication prioritizes caution in implementation of this technology, prioritization of human connections between clinicians and patients, and an unwavering focus on equity and inclusion.
AI has the potential to revolutionize health care. However, as we move into a future supported by technology together, we must ensure high data quality standards, that equity and inclusivity are always prioritized, that transparency is use-case-specific, that new technologies are supported by appropriate and adequate education and training, and that all technologies are appropriately regulated and supported by specific and tailored legislation.
The National Academy of Medicine, established in 1970 as the Institute of Medicine, is an independent organization of eminent professionals from diverse fields including health and medicine; the natural, social, and behavioral sciences; and beyond. It serves alongside the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering as an adviser to the nation and the international community. Through its domestic and global initiatives, the NAM works to address critical issues in health, medicine, and related policy and inspire positive action across sectors. The NAM collaborates closely with its peer academies and other divisions within the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The views presented in this special publication – “Artificial Intelligence in Health Care: The Hope, the Hype, the Promise, the Peril” – are those of the authors and do not represent formal consensus positions of the NAM; the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; or the authors’ organizations.
Download the special publication and associated resources: www.nam.edu/AIPub
