The Health | jan/Feb, 2020
26
Tech & Innovation
Can AI ever
replace
human
doctors?
Experts discusses the
future of digital healthcare
Dr Chun Yuan Chiang (second from right) expresses his opinion on how AI is far from
being able to replace human doctors in most aspects.
F
rom detection to diagnosis, digi-
tisation is widely being accepted
as the new approach to medicine.
Healthcare practitioners and
patients are quickly embracing
digital apps and advanced technol-
ogy to get to the bottom of an ailment.
But can technology and artificial intel-
ligence ever replace doctors?
“I don’t think at this stage, we are at 100
per cent, or even close to 100 per cent sure
that AI can replace a historical high-touch
type of doctor-patient relationship,” said
Dr Chun Yuan Chiang, a health practitioner
and founder of IHDPay Group, a health care
payments firm.
“In terms of diagnostic aid, it’s a different
category. So, I would say at the end of Day
Four, the patient wants recovery,” he told
CNBC’s Nancy Hungerford at a panel discus-
sion at East Tech West conference in the
Nansha district of Guangzhou, China.
Changing landscape
Still, experts say AI — defined broadly as
machines programmed to mimic human
intelligence in areas such as problem-solving
and learned behaviour — has reshaped the
Now, with CT
you can see all
lung modules,
and with AI
can tell where
it is and how
big it is. It’s
much more
advanced
than before.”
– Dr Chun Yuan
Chiang
medical landscape.
“We used to use x-rays to detect lung
cancer. The problem is you can only go to stage
3 or stage 4 with x-ray,” said another member
of the panel Dai Ying, chief innovation officer
for GE Healthcare in China.
“Now, with CT you can see all lung modules,
and with AI can tell where it is and how big it
is. It’s much more advanced than before,” he
said referring to computed tomography scans
used to detect medical conditions.
Diagnosis of ailments and diseases is being
done remotely these days. Health care providers
are connected via centralized systems that can
monitor patients remotely. But can AI replace a
doctor’s visit for those that are remote?
“We are building telemedicine in our
apps today where you can consult a doctor
from the convenience of your homes, not for
emergency,” said Jai Verma, CEO and board
member of insurance company Cigna DIFC,
and global head of government solutions at
Cigna International. “I think AI, internet of
things, are going to change the way we deliver
health care in the future.”
Verma also believes that along with AI, block-
chain technology will make it easier for heath
care companies, professionals and patients to
Health tech
trends:
Connected
devices and
telehealth
THE healthcare industry, mainly in the US,
is in the midst of transformation, including
an overhaul of its information infrastruc-
ture from physical to digital, and the rise
of informed and increasingly empowered
consumers.
Managing consumers' healthcare
experience is no longer a selling point, but
a must-deliver component of technology
vendors' solutions.
Within the connected fitness space, tech
leaders in the consumer fitness and wellness
segment are entering the medical devices
and data market, participating in studies for
clinical validation, and seeking regulatory
compliance with the FDA and HIPAA.
Fitbit and Apple are leveraging their
wearables platforms to develop diagnosis and
monitoring algorithms.
With CareKit, Apple is enabling care pro-
viders to develop apps on its platform rather
than forcing a one-size fits all solution. This
allows the process to be physician-led and
physician-guided.
Both Apple and Amazon are seeking to
make their devices healthcare platforms for
share medical records, and that many insurance
companies are already looking at integrating
blockchain into their modern systems.
Blockchain, the technology behind cryp-
tocurrencies like bitcoin, is a public ledger of
every transaction that has taken place.
Fraud and costs
As health-care providers plough millions into
AI-powered machines, blockchain and other
expensive innovative technologies to improve
the future of medicine, there are concerns
that health care costs could go up.
Experts think otherwise.
“I think the technology is going to help us
streamline the operations and reduce our
operating costs,” said Verma, pointing out
that most costs these days are associated with
manual work. “AI would help you to make it
automated, so the future systems are going to
help reduce your costs.”
In China, one of the largest health care
markets in the world, Dai said AI can play an
important role in improving efficiency for
the hospitals. “I don’t think AI is all the time
adding to costs,” he said. “In most cases, it
saves the costs.” — The Health
on smart technology.
Connected devices
Connected health and fitness devices, par-
ticularly wearables, provide users with new
insights into their own health.
Adoption of connected health devices has
been increasing over the years, and 40 percent
of consumers now own at least one listed
connected health device, across a variety of
devices designed for wellness, fitness and
medical purposes.
CONNECTED
HEALTHCARE:
Fitness trackers and
smartwatches have
become mainstay
for many Malaysians
nowadays, proving
the prevalence in
wearables as the
top healthcare trend
moving forward.
third-party medical applications.
Alongside tech giants, retail brands are
incorporating connectivity into their product
lines, helping to raise awareness:
Under Armour announced a partnership
with Samsung and JBL to provide a fitness
ecosystem of smart shoes, watches and
applications.
Peloton emerged to revolutionize the
stationary bike with a subscription model for
on-demand and live streaming fitness courses
— a first in connected social fitness.
The latest trends and developments
in connected health include connected
health and fitness devices giving consum-
ers greater insight into health metrics,
increased availability and use of telehealth
services, and companies focusing on provid-
ing independent living solutions centered
Telemedicine and on-demand
virtual care services
Telemedicine and on-demand virtual care
services provide a remote solution for physi-
cian visits, transitional care after a hospital
discharge, and ongoing chronic care manage-
ment, which can lower costs for both patients
and providers.
In Malaysia, development of such mobile
apps like Doctor2u, Pulse, and Naluri give
users the chance to talk to their physicians
without ever queueing at the clinic or hospital.
These services also are incredibly conve-
nient for consumers and can expand access
for those who have difficulty getting to the
doctor, whether due to distance, scheduling
or condition.
Telemedicine provides the convenience and
efficiency of not requiring the patient to physi-
cally go to a physician's office, enabling flexibility
— a key value proposition for patients.
The connectivity will go through another
evolution when 5G connectivity becomes
more accessible in the country as well. — The
Health