Hospital 4.0 of the future and artificial intelligence (AI) – opportunities for better medicine?

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AI is currently a hot topic across all industries and is also regularly discussed by our GenAI team here on the adesso blog. Given the rapid advances in AI, it is expected to fundamentally change the healthcare sector in particular. We are therefore at the beginning of a new era of medicine. The term "Hospital 4.0" is often used in this context. This is characterised by smart health, i.e. the intelligent connection of medical staff and patients using wearables and sensors, personalised medicine and the increased use of AI.

These developments open up numerous future applications for AI in hospitals, such as:

Clinical decision support systems for medical staff, including emergency management systems
AI-supported assessment of imaging, pathological and dermatological findings through pattern and abnormality recognition
Personalized medicine, for example, through the use of digital twins and genetic data
Automatically merge information to generate discharge letters using generative AI/natural language processing
AI-powered surgical robots to improve the precision of viber data complex interventions
Predictive analysis and disease risk assessment (e.g. for post-discharge treatment, postoperative management, or early detection of delirium risk)
Using AI for administrative tasks and resource management: coding, control, logistics, staff/service planning, surgery planning, patient flow forecasting and bed planning, hospital process optimization
Using predictive maintenance in medical technology to predict maintenance requirements and minimize downtime
The actual integration of AI into hospitals is still in its infancy. Although numerous AI startups are entering the healthcare market, many vendors are still lacking randomized controlled studies. However, AI is already proving to be more efficient than humans in some medical areas. It is becoming increasingly complex to keep up with the range and potential applications.

Critically assessing the quality, benefits and limitations of potential AI applications in patient care will be of great importance in the future. In the context of healthcare, many AI applications are medical devices that must first be categorized and tested according to their risk class. The practical integration of AI applications into existing IT processes and infrastructures represents a major challenge. Legal and ethical/moral aspects must be taken into account. The “AI Act” recently passed by the European Parliament represents an initial legal framework for the regulation of AI in Europe.

Despite the complexity of the challenges, the opportunities of future use of AI in medicine outweigh the risks. Routine work could be eliminated and therapies optimized. However, AI should by no means replace humans. Rather, AI should be seen as a tool that doctors can use responsibly to promote evidence-based and efficient care. The job description of a doctor will change accordingly and require new skills. Thanks to AI, doctors will be able to focus more on individualized care and give their patients more time and empathy again. In this way, humanity in healthcare can even be supported by technology.