AI and the Future of Crisis-Ready Healthcare

Artificial Intelligence no longer belongs to science fiction. In all manner of businesses, algorithms sift through huge datasets to find patterns, simplify processes, and inform decisions. In medicine, the cost of failure is higher and the potential payoff is potentially lifesaving. AI is still being applied to improve diagnoses, to simplify treatment protocols, and even to enhance surgery procedures. With these remarkable applications set aside, however, the technology can bring just as dramatic a value to healthcare: preparation for and response to public health crises.

Bureaucratic work is probably the most immediate of all demands on clinicians. National reports indicate that physicians spend almost twice their time writing out documentation and notes as they spend with their own patient loads. This uneven balance creates burnout, shortens consultations, and undermines patient experience.

ScribeAI is among several companies that aim to address that issue. It was started by healthcare entrepreneur Kyle Robertson and finance executive Matt Holmes and uses advanced natural language processing to capture doctor–patient conversations and summarize them into structured clinical notes. The system also creates an output of billing codes, diagnostic insights, and ready-for-use templates for other clinical workflow processes. Physicians who use ScribeAI save more than 70% of hours that would go into writing documents, reports the company. Time that is freed can be applied to patient care, particularly in moments of surge demand or even a public health disaster. Kyle Robertson has a documented history of innovation in healthcare. He is the founder of Cerebral, a telemedicine trailblazer that offered mental health treatments through the Internet. He then started Zealthy, a service that delivers telemedicine to focus on general healthcare and wellness to boost access to routine care. Both of them reflect Kyle Robertson’s passion for committing investments in technology to help bridge gaps in healthcare systems, particularly in situations of low patient access and low capacity of clinicians. With ScribeAI, Robertson applies those learnings to one of medicine’s most persistent problems of all—administrative burden.

Apart from saving time, responsiveness to crises can also be enhanced further by AI. Patient information can be processed to detect early warning signs of worsening medical conditions or probable disease outbreaks with algorithms. In one of its studies of transmission of COVID-19, technologies of AI were used to complement diagnosis, track infections, and track disease transmission patterns to reinforce the rapid response of healthcare systems and better resource utilization.

While caution is merited—since AI programs must be fed proper, representative data and can impose unwanted complexity when installed improperly—the potential rewards are huge. Programs like ScribeAI demonstrate just how technology can support, but not replace, human judgment. By attending to routine documentation, AI can leave physicians to do the aspect of caregiving that machines cannot perform: listening, explaining, and comforting patients. For a stressed healthcare system with little spare capacity, such efficiencies are no luxury—they are a source of strength. In future healthcare crises, AI can give clinicians latitude to respond with decisiveness, to offer more customized care, and to save more lives.