Brian J. Douthit, PhD '20, Xiao Hu, Ann Henshaw Gardiner Distinguished Professor of Nursing, and Associate Professors Rachel L. Richesson and Michael P. Cary authored "How artificial intelligence is transforming the future of nursing" for American Nurse, ANA's official journal. Hyeoneui Kim, former DUSON faculty member, also contributed. 

Excerpt

Takeaways:

• Artificial intelligence (AI) is an umbrella term for several different technologies and methodologies that contribute to many advances in healthcare today.
• Nurses should have a basic understanding of AI, so they may be informed users and contribute to their development.

According to Merriam-Webster, artificial intelligence (AI) is defined as a machine’s capacity to imitate intelligent human behaviors, such as reasoning and problem-solving. In healthcare, AI frequently refers to computer software programs designed to interpret data (for example, patient records, administrative claims, medical imaging, and data from mobile devices), learn from that data, and inform clinical and operational decision-making. In 2018, Becker’s Health IT reported that healthcare AI was valued at more than $2 billion and projected to exceed $36 billion by 2025. Investment in AI is increasing as healthcare organizations seek to improve care and lower costs.

Healthcare AI isn’t the stuff of science fiction; it uses computational algorithms with the electronic health record (EHR) as the data source. Although work is being done to develop “robotic clinicians” to automate human activities, this AI application isn’t common, nor is it the primary focus of research and development. In fact, the National Academy of Sciences urges researchers and industry leaders not to prioritize developing task-automation AI; instead, AI should be developed to support tasks and reduce clinician burden.

In this article, we’ll clarify what AI means in the context of healthcare today and provide examples of how AI currently is used to support nurses and the care they provide.