A MATRIX Minute from MATRIX Group Benefits, LLC
Many of us remember scenes in Star Trek when Dr. McCoy would scan a member of the crew with a small handheld device which diagnosed the illness or injury of the crew member. Many may also remember how far fetched that seemed, especially when compared to Dr. Welby M.D. He would make a house call on a patient and crudely, in comparison to Dr. McCoy, use a thermometer under the tongue, a squeeze bulb blood pressure cuff, a stethoscope, and a watch-timed pulse to diagnose a cold or flu, and hand-write a prescription or determine the patient needed some tests in the office.
In today’s world of medicine, bio-medical engineering and scientific advances in technology have developed the ability to perform microsurgery with the use of robotic arms controlled by computers, new drugs that can be personalized based on the genomic make up of a person, and now artificial intelligence (AI) using computers to collect and interpret various forms of data.
In studies that have compared the findings or diagnoses made by physicians to the findings made using AI, the AI results increased the number of positive results previously indicated as negative and reduced the number of false positives made by physicians. Most notably, these results were found in the readings of diagnostic imaging performed for cancer screening. The early deduction may be that AI could emerge as the preferred tool for interpreting diagnostic imaging, which likely would include x-rays, CT scans, ultrasounds, MRIs, and nuclear medicine scans.
To the extent these new technologies advance the quality of care and improve patient outcomes is too early to predict. But the interest in AI is significant and expansions of its application in clinical settings is assured, and will likely be followed by fast track approval by the FDA. What has not yet been discussed is how improvement in patient outcomes will be monitored and measured, or how much all of this will cost consumers, and the plans that provide benefits.
Health plan sponsors may want to keep an eye on the development and use of AI in the treatment of patients and monitor provider bills for new charges related to diagnostic treating using AI, particularly for diagnostic imaging related to cancer. Until the FDA issues definitive approvals for the use and application of AI, such services are investigational and likely excluded under most benefit plans.
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