Current Status and Future Direction of Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare and Medical Education

Abstract

The rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI), including deep learning, has led to the development of technologies that may assist in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases, prediction of disease risk and prognosis, health index monitoring, drug development, and healthcare management and administration. However, in order for AI technology to improve the quality of medical care, technical problems and the efficacy of algorithms should be evaluated in real clinical environments rather than the environment in which algorithms are developed. Further consideration should be given to whether these models can improve the quality of medical care and clinical outcomes of patients. In addition, the development of regulatory systems to secure the safety of AI medical technology, the ethical and legal issues related to the proliferation of AI technology, and the impacts on the relationship with patients also need to be addressed. Systematic training of healthcare personnel is needed to enable adaption to the rapid changes in the healthcare environment. An overall review and revision of undergraduate medical curriculum is required to enable extraction of significant information from rapidly expanding medical information, data science literacy, empathy/compassion for patients, and communication among various healthcare providers. Specialized postgraduate AI education programs for each medical specialty are needed to develop proper utilization of AI models in clinical practice.