The rapid growth and adoption of technology in the last couple of decades has led to huge advances in scientific research and healthcare practices, improving both the quality of life and care. Artificial Intelligence (AI), robotics, Machine Learning (ML) and digitization are now being embraced by the healthcare sector for increased efficiencies and improved patient care. The impact is that the lines between humans and robots are fast blurring. The concept of the AI Bot Nurse as a reliable caregiving support alternative comes as a breath of fresh air to healthcare staff. This paper explores the concept of leveraging AI Bot Nurses to help assist with patient care given during routine circumstances and also during high-risk public health emergencies.
Human and machine collaboration for better healthcare
An AI Bot Nurse can not only take over the management of several crucial “patient situations”, it can also be a very reliable caregiving alternative during public health emergencies. In the wake of the recent Coronavirus outbreak in China and the WHO declaring it a “global health emergency”, the AI Bot Nurse can easily assist patients and healthcare professionals, helping patients navigate through traumatic situations, providing routine patient care and support. The Bot Nurse can help with routine patient check-ups and monitoring, assist patients with their medication and injections and basic physical care, keep track of patient records, remind them to take their medicines on time, and even alert doctors in case of a medical emergency.
How AI Bot Nurses and modern healthcare workers can work together effectively
Nurses are a very critical part of the healthcare system and account for the largest numbers in the profession. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of nursing jobs will grow at an astounding rate of 12% from 2018 to 2026! iThe WHO estimates that the world will need an additional 9 million nurses and mid-wives by 2030ii. It’s evident that the rising need for nursing staff and caregivers will also increase the existing workload on nurses. An AI Bot Nurse can be a viable alternative to ease the pressure in this situation. Not only are AI Bot Nurses efficient, they can also assist far better in certain areas as compared to human nurses. For example, an AI Bot Nurse is available 24/7/365, is not prone to contracting infections, does not tire easily and makes a veritable buddy for the patient.
Here are the many ways an AI Bot Nurse can assist healthcare staff and patients in providing excellent care:
The AI Bot Nurse is here to stay
Undoubtedly, the AI Bot Nurse can complement nursing and caregiving efforts thereby reducing dependency on human nurses to a great extent. Moreover, the cost of deploying nursing staff across various medical situations is an expensive affair which can be addressed with Bot Nurses. There is huge pressure on time and the demand for nursing services. It is also a challenge for nurses to engage in long, sometimes monotonous conversations with patients who just need some empathetic company. It is precisely this vacuum that can be filled by AI Bot Nurses. In addition, the healthcare monitoring statistics gathered by the AI Bot Nurse are sometimes more accurate than those collected by human nurses where there is a margin for human error.
As modern healthcare technology evolves and digitization advances, AI Bot Nurses can be further improved in terms of their functionalities and capabilities to become an integral part of patient caregiving, benefiting both patients and the healthcare ecosystem at large.
References
i U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Number of jobs for nurses,
https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/registered-nurses.htm
ii WHO: Nursing and Midwifery: Key facts,
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/nursing-and-midwifery
iii Coronavirus: Hong Kong hospital staff strike to demand closure of China border,
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-51349154
iv A hospital introduced a robot to help nurses. They didn’t expect it to be so popular,
v Sixty five and older population projected to reach 72 million in 2030: Administration of Aging: Department of Health and Human Services, https://cs.stanford.edu/people/eroberts/cs201/projects/2010-11/ComputersMakingDecisions/robotic-nurses/index.html
Vivek Chauhan
Sr. Consultant- Wipro HOLMESTM, Wipro Limited
Vivek Chauhan has over 11 years of experience in the IT sector. He was involved in developing AI-enabled cognitive solutions for a leading healthcare client. He is passionate about AI and is deeply interested in cutting-edge technologies.