This month's column is titled A Vision of Disruption, How AI Will Revolutionize Icare. Now for all of you listening for someone to give you a warning, this article may challenge the way you think and make you a little uncomfortable. That's where change occurs. So in my opinion, the Icare industry stands on the precipice of a seismic shift.
A revolution is forthcoming that will either be embraced by forward thinking professionals or resisted by those clinging to our outdated, inefficient, broken models. Now, that's okay. Change is hard. I mean, but so is getting left behind and wondering what happened.
As I talk to friends, colleagues, and industry professionals, there are concerns to say the least and frustrations. The Icare system, and the medical system as a whole, or as we know it, is fundamentally broken. I don't think there's anybody that probably disagrees with that. Someone seems to feel it, knows it's true, they just don't know how to get around it, so they keep playing the game.
Well, I believe there is inevitable, tight-o-wave of artificial intelligence, called AI, an augmented medical intelligence called AMI, that will not merely be in addition to our toolkit. It's going to fundamentally reshape the operational and financial landscape of Icare. It will be a demanding and radical rethinking of how we deliver, pay, and manage patient health. The current system bogged down by static data, bureaucratic third-party payers, and the reactive approach to health is ripe for disruption.
And they'll let you in a little secret. It's common. So let's first break down operational inefficiencies. There are a lot of those that plague our practices today.
I mean, my perspective in this discussion comes from my background as the chief editor of a business journal for seven years, a speaker and a consultant about the business of Icare for over a decade and the owner of a practice for over two decades. I mean, think about how much time and tip-glide care provider spends on administrative tasks from manual data entry to navigating the labyrinth requirements and roadblocks of insurance companies. This is time stolen from true patient care. And this is why so many ECPs have sold their businesses to private equity to focus on patient care.
Now I believe that AI and AMI will automate these processes and remove many of the pain points of traditional care. Now imagine a world where diagnostic imaging is instantly analyzed by an AI, flagging potential pathologies with a higher degree of accuracy than human eye, and autonomously generating a preliminary report. Now this isn't sign fiction. This is the immediate future.
These technologies are already starting to surface. Just go visit any of the industry booths. They hone their skills and improve every day, and instead of letting mundane task bog them down, providers will be able to focus on the human center aspects of their profession. You know, the important things like communication, empathy, complex problem solving, you know, the things we started doing this for in the first place.
Now I believe the time savings will be immense. Practition will be able to see more patients and more importantly spend more quality time with these patients. That might require a little bit or create a little bit of point number two, which is evidence-based medicine. Now the shift towards intelligent automation will also have a profound positive effect, I believe, on the quality of care through the principles of evidence-based medicine.
For example, today a clinical clinician's diagnosis of products they're training, experience, and the limited data available in a static EHR, i.e. mostly the gray box. In the future Amy will be able to analyze vast data sets of de-identified patient information, identify subtle patterns that we as humans who are really busy in clinic might just overlook. I mean, this approach will establish a new standard of care where unprecedented evidence supports every diagnosis and treatment plan.
Crazy thought, doing things with science behind it. Now we've all heard or read how early detection of conditions like glaucoma, macular degeneration, and diabetic or anopathy will become routine and highly accurate, i.e. precision medicine. I believe that there's going to be a much wider effect though.
As we start to see more AI-powered equipment, we're also going to see a shift in diagnosis and management of anterior segment disease. In the not too distant future, an AI-powered adaptive intelligence system will take all the patient data, including an anterior and posterior segment evaluation. Combine it with refractive data, an AI embedded diagnostic technologies will integrate that with medical histories. The AI will then reference how that data compares to millions of other individuals globally to provide a complete picture to providers to augment our knowledge and improve how we provide care.
The question will no longer be, what does my experience tell me? But what does all of humanity's collected data tell us? Now when I say not too distant future, I don't mean tomorrow, I probably don't mean three years or five years, but most for most of you listening, probably within the time that you are going to continue to practice in your career. Now that brings up the third part, which is finances, and the most controversial yet necessary change will be a complete overhaul of our financial model.
The current system dominated by third-party insurers creates an adversarial relationship between providers and payers. It also often plays a barrier between patients and the care they need. Insurance companies dictate what procedures are covered and how much they'll pay, and in turn, this creates a mountain of administrative work that inflates costs and stifles innovation. In my opinion, a future powered by AI offers a clear path away from our current model.
By drastically reducing operational costs through automation, we can create a system where direct-to-patient subscription-based care becomes viable, not-dimension-preferable. Patients will pay a predictable fee for comprehensive, proactive care, and providers will be freed from the bureaucratic nightmare of claims processing and audits. This direct relationship now aligns incentives, providers strive to keep patients healthy, and patients have access to transparent and high-value services directly, maybe without a third party. Now that requires point number four, which is patient data.
Now, the cornerstone of this new paradigm will be a fundamental shift in how we handle patient data. The current EHRs are basically glorified digital filing cabinets, static, siloed, and often difficult to access. On the other hand, patient-owned, dynamic, and adaptive information models will empower patients to be active participants in the health. Imagine continuously updating and analyzing patient data from genetic markers to lifestyle and environmental factors all in real time.
Now, futuristic? Yes. A generation away? No.
This dynamic model, owned and controlled by the patient, can be securely shared with any provider. This will create a holistic, continually evolving picture of each individual's personal health. Providers in turn will have access to a far richer and more complete data set. This will enable them to truly offer personalized, preventative, and predictive care.
This collaborative data-driven approach will transform the direct, patient, doctor, relationship. Rather than a series of reactive appointments, we'll have an ongoing partnership for health. As a health care consumer, a patient myself, I can't wait. Now, information is power.
Probably over-coded, but absolutely true. The current model is broken. It's a relic of a bygone area. Error.
It is inefficient, costly, and often failing to deliver the best possible outcomes, but it's what we have to deal with. But the future is coming, and in some aspects, it's here waiting to be built. We have a choice. We can continue to patch a failing system, or embrace the tools of artificial intelligence, and create a new paradigm, one that's a proactive, patient-centric, and truly effective.
Now, I urge you, all you listeners, the IKAR ecosystem, to stop thinking within the confines of the current model. Instead, ask yourselves, how can we leverage these powerful technologies to not just improve, but maybe reinvent the way IKAR and, in a larger scale, healthcare is delivered? How can we build a system that liberates providers, empowers patients, and protects the gift of sight with the most advanced, intelligent, and compassionate care possible? The time to act?
Today.