Driving Healthcare Transformation Through Generative AI
3.1 GENERATED PATIENT SUMMARY
GenAI is making inroads into healthcare by automating tasks and optimizing processes such as the generation of patient summaries . These summaries can be crucial for physicians and other healthcare professionals to quickly understand a patient ' s medical history , current conditions , and treatment plans before visits or procedures . Prior attempts with limited success , for similar use case without the use of GenAI is described here 22 . Let us look at how the use of GenAI enhances this scenario .
3.1.1 PROCESS OPTIMIZATION
The process optimization involves three steps :
• Data Aggregation : Medical LLMs can aggregate data from multiple sources such as EHRs ( Electronic Health Records ), lab results , and imaging studies .
• Natural Language Processing : Advanced natural language processing techniques are employed to interpret clinical notes , and other free-text fields , converting them into structured data or summarizing the essential points . The fine tuning of the Foundational LLM , with clinical data , helps to achieve this .
• Summarization : The model generates concise yet comprehensive patient summaries that encapsulate all the necessary clinical information . The process creates a draft for the medical professional such as physician assistance to review it and approve it for use by the physician before a patient visit . The human in the loop ensures patient safety and compliance .
3.1.2 BENEFITS
The use of GenAI in creating patient summaries offers several distinct advantages . First , automation significantly enhances efficiency , freeing up valuable time for healthcare professionals to devote more attention to direct patient care . Second , the generated summaries bring a level of consistency in both format and detail , which makes it easier for healthcare providers to quickly understand the patient ' s medical situation . Third , these models can be customized to cater to the specific informational needs of various medical specialties , thereby increasing the summaries ' relevance and utility . Lastly , these GenAI systems can be configured to provide real-time updates , ensuring that healthcare professionals have access to the most current patient information . Collectively , these benefits not only improve the quality of healthcare delivery but also contribute to more informed and timely decision-making .
While the advantages of using GenAI for patient summaries are clear , the technology faces several challenges that need to be addressed . First and foremost is the issue of data quality : the
22 https :// www . ncbi . nlm . nih . gov / pmc / articles / PMC7225507 / 94
March 2024