How AI will give back time to clinicians and re-establish the human connection

Last week, Dr. Roy Smythe, Chief Medical Officer Strategy and Partnerships at Philips, spoke at Web Summit’s HealthConf in Lisbon about Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its current and future role in healthcare. 

Session moderator Georgia Frances King, Ideas Editor at tech magazine Quartz, set the goal of dispelling some of the myths and misconceptions about AI in healthcare and finding reality in the midst of the hype. 

Joined on stage by Hannah Allen, Medical Director at subscription health service provider Babylon Health, Roy explained how Philips is already developing and deploying AI in solutions for every phase of the health continuum, from birth to aging in place at home. He also touched on the opportunity that AI offers to re-humanize healthcare by freeing up time for clinicians to interact at a human level with their patients. Roy put forward the argument that by taking over non-clinical activities, such as organizing information in the run-up to or during consultations and supporting first-time-right decision making, “AI will help to re-establish the human connection between doctor and patient.”

Roy’s Web Summit session is available online and can be seen here.