For many Americans, artificial intelligence (AI) has become a familiar part of our daily routines. From enabling smart thermostats that keep our homes comfortable to powering mobile navigation apps that help us get around faster and more safely, many helpful AI tools are already proving their worth. What if AI advancements could also help us better navigate our own healthcare journeys, making administrative tasks easier for medical providers while enabling more accessible care for patients?
Today, AI is becoming further integrated into the U.S. healthcare system in ways that help providers offer a better experience for patients. AI can quickly analyze test results, identify patterns in large amounts of patient data, and streamline routine tasks.
Based on our experience as advanced practice providers (APP), AI performs many helpful functions, but it doesn’t replace the human component. Instead, AI gives providers the time to focus on what we were trained to do: comfort patients with empathetic touch, explain test results in an individualized way that is easy to understand, and work with the medical team, patients, and their families to develop the most effective plan of care.
As these AI advancements continue, it’s critical that medical teams and patients remain at the center of our healthcare system. If we get this right, AI can become a powerful tool that strengthens the vital clinical judgment of healthcare providers and significantly improves patient outcomes.
We’re already seeing promising signs that AI can help improve cancer diagnosis. While cancer is the second-leading cause of death for Americans, early detection significantly improves survival rates, according to the American Cancer Society. In fact, the 5-year survival rate for many cancers is over 90% when detected early.
At The Christ Hospital in Cincinnati, AI is helping us detect cancer earlier, potentially saving lives. By implementing a new AI tool developed by Epic that integrates directly into our electronic health record system workflows, the hospital has been able to detect an impressive 69% of early-stage lung cancers – significantly higher than the national average at just 46%. Epic’s AI-enabled dashboard analyzes radiology reports and highlights any mentions of lung nodules – small growths that are sometimes an early sign of lung cancer. Based on the tool’s initial scan, the hospital’s lung health nurse navigators can then review and track these nodules, ensuring that potential early-stage cancers are not missed.
In less than a year, our AI dashboard discovered more than 7,000 lung nodule mentions, helping identify almost 200 cases of lung cancer that may have otherwise gone undetected. Most importantly, we’ve been able to begin early treatment in nearly half of those cases, giving our clinical teams an earlier start towards saving patients’ lives.
While the use of AI in healthcare may be new to many Americans, every major technological breakthrough in medicine was once seen as unfamiliar before eventually becoming indispensable. Just as no provider today would reject an X-ray or a blood test, or hesitate to use a stethoscope, today’s providers are increasingly using AI tools that can supplement the care they provide for their patients.
Embracing AI is not about replacing the clinician’s judgment. Instead, AI empowers providers to make better care decisions for their patients. Our experience at The Christ Hospital proves that we prioritize exceptional care for our patients – as with the early detection of lung cancer – AI can be an incredibly powerful tool for improving healthcare outcomes.
Ashley Campbell, MSN, APRN, FNP-C is the lead provider of the Lung Nodule and Lung Cancer Screening Programs at The Christ Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio. Cassidee Kuehner RN, BSN is a Lung Nurse Navigator at The Christ Hospital.
