The HIMSS 2023 convention has come and gone, leaving us with lots to consider by way of the way forward for healthcare expertise. As I mirror on my expertise on the convention, there are just a few key takeaways that stand out to me.
Firstly, it is clear that AI is now squarely within the highlight in healthcare. Nearly each vendor providing at HIMSS 2023 was using some type of AI, whether or not or not it’s picture evaluation, pure language processing (NLP), or predictive analytics. This isn’t a brand new development however it’s accelerating, and we’re seeing increasingly AI-powered options enter the market.
Use case: Addressing Social Determinants of Well being with NLP
One space the place AI is especially promising is within the realm of Social Determinants of Well being (SDOH). At HIMSS 2023, there was a whole lot of dialogue round how AI can be utilized to determine and tackle SDOH elements in affected person care. A few classes that I discovered notably compelling have been introduced by physicians from NorthShore – Edward-Elmhurst Well being, who spoke about their use of IQVIA NLP to extract patient-level SDOH information from digital medical data. By deploying this AI-powered workflow into scientific apply, they’ve been in a position to display screen 56% extra sufferers for SDOH care gaps.
However what actually struck me was their case examine exhibiting how this AI-aided workflow is impacting particular person sufferers. On this case, a 20- to 30-year-old feminine presenting to the Emergency Division for headache. Within the background, NLP recognized that this affected person had beforehand spoken about being a sufferer of abuse. The AI output was introduced to a care employee with this data highlighted. They have been in a position to take an in depth historical past from the affected person on that subject and because of this, refer her for PTSD counseling and authorized help. This instance actually drove house the potential affect that AI can have on affected person care on the particular person degree.
In comparison with final yr’s HIMSS convention, this yr’s felt way more again to “regular”. There was an actual buzz and a whole lot of cross-industry collaboration on present. In fact, there was nice pleasure across the newest developments in generative AI, notably the way it can scale back doctor burden and burnout. There are a lot of potential ways in which I feel we’re going to see this expertise affect each day scientific apply – and I’m certain that subsequent yr’s HIMSS might be stuffed with case research born out of the thrill of this yr.
In conclusion, HIMSS 2023 was an thrilling occasion that highlighted the rising function of AI in healthcare and the significance of addressing Social Determinants of Well being. The case examine introduced by NorthShore – Edward-Elmhurst Well being serves as a strong reminder of the potential affect of AI when deployed into scientific apply. Because the {industry} continues to evolve, I am trying ahead to seeing how these applied sciences will proceed to remodel affected person care.
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Linguamatics 
12 Might 2023