Accuracy among healthcare artificial intelligence (AI) tools has grown exponentially in a short amount of time, and the place for these tools in urgent care might be that much more evident now. Research published in the Annals of Internal Medicine recently concluded that AI has the ability to match and to outperform physicians delivering virtual urgent care. In fact, AI agreed with doctors’ diagnosis and management recommendations 56.8% of the time among the 461 virtual urgent care visits analyzed in the study. Presenting symptoms included respiratory, urinary, vaginal, eye, and dental complaints. AI recommendations were more frequently rated as optimal (77.1%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 72.7% to 80.9%) when compared with the treating physicians’ decisions (67.1%; CI, 62.9% to 71.1%). The authors note that AI performed better in identifying red flags and following guideline-adherent care than their human counterparts. Obviously, this was a single, limited study, and the authors are not suggesting that AI is a replacement for human physicians but rather a tool that can assist in decision making.
Instant consultation: “Urgent care has always been driven by repetition, efficiency, and speed in diagnosing and treating a subset of common conditions. Patients with symptoms or concerns that fall outside of these common presentations create the most clinical risk and require the greatest time and attention of providers,” says Alan Ayers, MBA, President of Urgent Care Consultants and Senior Editor of JUCM. “By automating and streamlining urgent care workflows, AI has the potential to increase both accuracy and speed for common conditions, while also supporting better medical outcomes for more complex presentations.”
Read More
- Can Artificial Intelligence Provide Real Value in Triaging Urgent Care Patients?
- AI Tool Correctly Detects Epileptic Syndrome in Infants By Watching Videos