Artificial Intelligence
As our world population grows and ages, healthcare is under pressure to innovate to cope with ever-increasing impediments as the Covid-19 pandemic recently proved – especially in impoverished and less-fortunate countries. Its clear that healthcare requires a new way of thinking.
Artificial Intelligence has over a short period of time become a major driver in medical and healthcare innovation. While regular programs operate within set and defined parameter/scenarios presenting a solution, Artificial Intelligence allows the program to ‘educate’ itself beyond the usual set of hard-coded parameters usually specified by the programmer.
Described differently, AI allows the program to improve its intelligence independently. For any AI application to work effectively it needs loads of data, lots of it. The more data, the more intelligent the algorithms become. The access and importance of data is critical. The more data available, the more reliable predictions and actions become – JUST faster and better.
Grace Murray Hopper (1906 – 1992), co-founder of the programming language COBOL, stated a few centuries ago:
1. “Some day, on the corporate balance sheet, there will be a entry that reads “information”; for in most cases the information will be more valuable that the hardware that it runs on”
2. “We’re flooding everybody with information, we need to transform this information into intelligence”
Patterns, anomalies and scaling are produced in a fraction of the time it would take a human to do. Applications in healthcare include patient diagnosis, prognosis, patient-to-doctor communication, etc.
We already have automated methods of tracking footsteps, heart rate, blood oxygen levels, etc. in the form of wearables. This together with patient-provided information already provides a wealth of information. The use and application of smartphone apps brings a foretaste of AI into our homes.
At Makana Healthcare we see the cost-efficient and affordable roll-out to Primary Healthcare in underprivileged areas as critical. Actionable insights are critical to these population sectors. We are of the opinion that AI optimizes healthcare and augments the ability of the medical practitioner. In this way better and more efficient systems can be put in place beyond the limits of current human abilities.
At Makana Healthcare we’ve invested in specialized resources in Information systems, data modelling and Economics to enable us to gain clearer insights in progress made – especially the impact in developing nations where healthcare systems are operating under stressful conditions. We’re very focused on the economics aspect of he rollout and its effects and efforts are in place to create a beta modelling concept of the project to monitor the impacts and benefits that can accurately monitor progressions, trends and patterns.
At Makana we’re more focused on the future than the past, however not forgetting that the past handed us the baton to make a difference into the future.
Will Robots ever replace physical Physicians?
In our opinion no form of AI can and will ever replace or interpret multi-layered and complex challenges involving the psyche. Interpretation and final decision will always reside with the human. There will be tasks that Robots or AI won’t be able to do. Remember “Bad Data” will have to filtered out to enable optimal AI intelligence.
Finally, Doctors will be able to enjoy and carry out their more critical and much-needed functions more effectively. Ultimately we see platform technology that learn, grow, understand and communicate that will facilitate behavioral and life-style changes to enable a healthier population.
We’ve always been a keen supporter of the phrase “Intelligent systems will give you answers to questions you weren’t aware of!”. That’s the catalyst for innovation that will make the difference.
We enjoy extensive footprints into government institutions of health, sharing a 25 year long relationship and have extensive knowledge of their operational transversal systems.