Fears grow of AI-adoption divide

The high costs associated with adopting artificial intelligence-powered ambient clinical documentation tools could create a divide between hospital systems able to afford them and those that cannot. David Yang, MD, vice president of AI and emerging technologies at Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente notes well-resourced systems can invest in testing, evaluating and responsibly deploying AI technologies. Meanwhile, county hospitals, federally qualified health centers and rural hospitals could lack the infrastructure or expertise to deploy AI effectively. In addition, less-resourced systems may deploy AI without fully understanding  its capabilities and limitations, he says. Similarly, if health systems use AI as a solution to address burnout, less-resourced systems could face a greater exodus of burned-out workers. (Becker’s Health IT article, 8/26/24)