Technology is Shaping Our Future

In this day and age, information technology (IT) rules. It shapes the way we do business and it shapes the way we live our lives. Topping this wave is artificial intelligence (AI), therefore it makes perfect sense that the American College of Radiology (ACR), along with six other professional societies — European Society of Radiology (ESR); Radiological Society of North America (RSNA); Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine (SIIM); European Society of Medical Imaging Informatics (ESMII); Canadian Association of Radiologists (CAR); and American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) — joined forces to create a new consensus document on the ethics of using AI in radiology. The authors are taking comments on the draft guidance through April 15, 2019, and a finalized document will be produced within the following six months. You can read the full draft of the guidance document at https://bit.ly/2VIv34H.

The document explores ethical considerations for artificial intelligence from several angles, including data use, algorithms and trained models, and actual practice. The writing team reviewed current literature from the fields of computer science and medicine, as well as historical ethical scholarship and material related to the ethics of future scenarios. The document was produced through the combined efforts of philosophers, radiologists, imaging informaticists, medical physicists, patient advocates, and attorneys with experience with radiology in the U.S. and the European Union.

“AI has noticeably altered our perception of radiology data — their value, how to use them and how they may be misused. Rather than simply understanding AI, radiologists have a moral duty both to understand their data, and to use the data they collect to improve the common good, extract more information about patients and their diseases, and improve the practice of radiology,” the statement reads.

In addition to AI, other key health IT trends to make note of, which were covered at the recent Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) conference, include:

1. The Rise of Augmented and Virtual Reality in Healthcare

The main areas of utilization for this technology include patient consultation;
pre-surgical planning; surgical or interventional periprocedural guidance; and physician training.

2. Decrease on Hype and Focus on Introducing Artificial Intelligence Products

The hype cycle surrounding AI has seemingly come to an end, and attendees and hospitals expect to see real, actual products to purchase, not to have a theoretical discussion about how AI might help healthcare in the future.

3. Analytics is the Next Big Trend Following Digital Health Record Implementation

With the U.S. federal mandate under healthcare reform that all healthcare facilities convert from paper-based systems to electronic medical records (EMRs), it has effectively connected nearly all aspects of healthcare systems into a digital format over the past decade. This has made many hospitals focus efforts on leveraging this data by implementing powerful new analytics software.

4. Cybersecurity Tops Concerns With EMRs

As healthcare becomes more wired and interconnected, cybersecurity has become a primary concern of hospitals. Healthcare facilities have been the target of many high-profile attacks that have cost millions, opening the facilities to liabilities that can cause a major disruption in patient care if systems are shut down or data is blocked by hackers.