Review by Booklist Review
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is already changing health care as evidenced by the use of electronic medical record (EMR) systems. Physician-executive Wachter (The Digital Doctor, 2015) exuberantly forecasts there is plenty more to come from AI, including major improvements in medical education, advances in research, speedier and accurate diagnoses, and formulation of precise treatment plans. But before doctors cede too many of their customary functions to the almighty AI, keep in mind that there is so much more to healing than just diagnosis and prescription. A human presence--empathy, genuine compassion, reassurance or an expression of hope, the tender announcement of a poor prognosis--is fundamental. No doubt generative AI can presently pass a medical licensure exam, but did you know AI can have "hallucinations" (making things up)? Major questions swirl around its expanding usage. How and by whom will AI be regulated? Will there be a "kill switch?" Will there always be a "doctor-in-the-loop" as a safeguard? Wachter presents a well-written discussion with an eye to physicians and leaders of health care organizations that, despite its cautions, seems to overpromise a digital medical utopia.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Wachter (The Digital Doctor), chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, offers an evenhanded and insightful exploration of the ways artificial intelligence could impact the medical profession. Recognizing that "nearly one million Americans are severely harmed or killed by medical mistakes every year" and that the current healthcare system is wildly expensive and often inaccessible, Wachter argues that "AI doesn't have to be perfect to be better." He examines possible physician uses of AI, explaining how its ability to analyze vast datasets could enable more personalized patient care, and explores how patients might benefit, noting, for example, that AI scribes can document patient-doctor conversations, thus freeing up the physician for more present and genuine connections. Wachter doesn't see AI replacing doctors anytime soon because its biggest shortcoming is "a lack of expansive thinking and real-world experience," but he does believe that it can automate administrative tasks, decreasing the amount of time spent on paperwork and the frustrations associated with filing pre-authorization forms with insurance companies. Throughout, Wachter clearly and concisely explains the complex technology and its possible medical uses and makes a convincing case that AI will usher in "something of a golden age in healthcare." The result is a clear-eyed road map of AI's potential in medicine. (Feb.)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Powerful AI tools for the medical industry are already shaping our digital shadows, diagnosing disease, recommending treatments, and quietly redefining the doctor-patient relationship. University of California, San Francisco physician and author Wachter surveys the rapidly changing frontier where algorithms meet anatomy. Drawing on a yearlong exploration of artificial intelligence in health care, he interviews clinicians, developers, ethicists, and policymakers to reveal an industry both hopeful and unsettled. The 2022 debut of ChatGPT unleashed a wave of enthusiasm for machine learning in medicine--promising to ease physicians' data-entry drudgery and help interpret the oceans of electronic health information. But Wachter finds that despite notable successes, there are cautionary tales of flawed models, opaque "black boxes," and dangerously overhyped results. Regulation, notes scholar Michelle Mello, remains a "hot mess," tangled in uncertainty over when an AI "decision support" tool becomes a regulated medical device. Meanwhile, the profit-driven structure of American health care complicates matters further--if an algorithm evaluates a patient and recommends treatment, who gets paid? Wachter is alert to these ethical and financial knots, as well as the potential for tech giants such as Google and Microsoft to exert undue influence disguised as impartial counsel. As one member of Congress warns, allowing tech companies to assess their own or competitors' AI models invites serious conflicts of interest. Wachter argues that AI tools will offer more help than harm, and that the medical profession's "professional risk aversion, powerful incumbents, spring-loaded malpractice system, byzantine payment structures, and stringent privacy rules" will be effective guardrails against AI risks. Though the book largely skirts the political battles shaping health care, it is an accessible, often fascinating primer on AI tools changing clinical practice--for better or worse. Essential, illuminating reading for those who fear and those who welcome changes that AI may bring. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
