AI has finger on pulse of healthcare advances

AI Plus initiative

The scale of China's AI-powered healthcare industry reached 97.3 billion yuan in 2023, and the figure is expected to grow to 159.8 billion yuan by 2028, with an annual compound growth rate of 10.5 percent from 2022 to 2028, data from the Qianzhan Industry Research Institute showed.

In August, the State Council, China's Cabinet, issued a guideline on the deep implementation of the "AI Plus" initiative. The country will promote the use of AI in science and technology, industrial development, consumption, people's well-being, governance capability and global cooperation, according to the guideline.

Efforts should be made to explore and promote high-quality health assistant services accessible to everyone, and steadily advance the application of AI in areas such as auxiliary diagnosis and treatment, health management, and medical insurance services, significantly enhancing the capacity and efficiency of community-oriented healthcare, the guideline said.

In November, the National Health Commission and four other authorities released a document on the broad application of AI in the health sector over the coming years.

By 2030, intelligent diagnosis and treatment assistance will be universal in basic terms across China's primary-level medical institutions, including community and village clinics, the document said.

AI technologies such as intelligent medical imaging diagnosis and clinical decision-making supporting technologies will be widely adopted by hospitals at or above the second level in China's three-tier hospital system.

Efforts will also be made to encourage the development of new service formats such as intelligent health checkups, health consultations, and health management, and to boost vertical large-model applications in the healthcare industry, the document noted.

Li Tongzeng, a physician in the infectious disease department at Beijing Youan Hospital, said, "AI has helped liberate doctors from repetitive tasks, allowing us to focus on core diagnostic and treatment processes."

AI agents can generate medical records in seconds and assist in issuing medical orders, which are both conducive to improving medical efficiency, Li said. An AI agent refers to a system or program that is capable of autonomously performing tasks on behalf of a user or another system by designing its workflow and utilizing available tools.

AI agents are more advanced than chatbots because they not only provide suggestions and answers, but also autonomously execute complex actions across a multitude of industries that can deliver tangible results.

Experts said AI health management apps can be viewed as auxiliary tools for health management and diagnosis, but they cannot replace certified healthcare professionals in conducting patient examinations and performing surgeries.

"The competition in the AI health sector is heating up, with major internet and tech companies collaborating with hospitals to secure data flows to the online platforms of hospitals," said Pan Helin, a member of the Expert Committee for Information and Communication Economy, which is part of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

The companies hope to transform patients' low-frequency medical behaviors into health consultations and inquiries with high frequency, Pan said, adding that as more user consultation data is uploaded to health management platforms, AI models will be better trained.

With the rapid advancement of AI technology, its applications in medical diagnosis and treatment are becoming increasingly widespread in China, Pan said.

Although AI is proving its worth in specific scenarios, it can't replace the professional diagnosis of a skilled physician, he said. "The prescription review and the final diagnosis decision remain in the hands of the human doctor," Pan said.

JD Health, a unit of tech giant JD, has unveiled an AI-powered system designed for online healthcare scenarios, built on the company's specialized medical large language models.

The system incorporates cutting-edge AI and big data analytics to provide doctors with more precise and comprehensive diagnostic support. It supports doctors in collecting, analyzing and processing research data, facilitating the production of medical papers and providing guidance.

Its aim is to boost clinical research efficiency for doctors, and optimize hospital operations, while prioritizing the security of patient health records and safeguarding their privacy, said JD Health.

The company has also launched the AI doctor digital twin, which offers a personalized "digital human" to relieve doctors of routine tasks, allowing them to focus on complex and nuanced aspects of patient care.

This digital twin can learn from a doctor's professional knowledge, thought processes, and communication habits, providing 24/7 patient support, disease education, treatment management, medication reminders, and other post-care services.

It collects patient history in advance, offers personalized diagnostic plans and diagnosis suggestions while addressing patient queries in real time and making doctors' clinical expertise available on demand.

Looking ahead, the company said it will continue to enhance its offerings with medical expert services and video consultations, striving to provide convenient services to users, while giving healthcare professionals enhanced tools for practice.

Zhu Keli, founding director of the China Institute of New Economy, is bullish on the prospects of AI in healthcare. "AI can provide scientific support across multiple links, such as disease prevention, precise diagnosis, personalized treatment, and new drug development," Zhu said.

Greater efforts should also be made to accumulate more complex and comprehensive data, allowing AI to evolve through learning and analysis, which will enable it to develop the ability to solve difficult and complicated problems.

AI is becoming a crucial force driving the transformation and upgrading of the healthcare industry, Zhu said. He also called for ensuring the safety and effectiveness of AI technology to provide a better experience and high-quality medical services for patients.

fanfeifei@chinadaily.com.cn