AI in Healthcare: Where We Actually Are vs Where Headlines Say

Headlines promise AI will transform healthcare. Reality is more nuanced—significant progress in some areas, minimal impact in others, and legitimate concerns about deployment. Here's an honest assessment.

Diagnostic imaging is the clear success story. AI detects certain cancers, analyzes radiology images, and identifies patterns humans miss. FDA-cleared AI diagnostic tools number in the hundreds. These genuinely help and are in clinical use today.

Administrative automation saves time and money without patient risk. Scheduling, billing, documentation assistance, and prior authorization all benefit from AI. The impact on physician burnout from reduced paperwork might be AI's biggest healthcare contribution.

Clinical decision support remains problematic. AI recommendations for treatment plans sound good until you consider liability, the complexity of individual patient contexts, and the risk of over-reliance. Most implementations keep AI firmly in advisory roles with heavy human oversight.