The takeaway:
AI detection is being used at direct-to-patient facilities and stand-alone clinics, but offers an uneasy choice for patients as the findings can be incomplete and still require human intervention for a correct course of care, says a licensed cardiologist at CU Anschutz.
During a routine mammogram screening at a stand-alone clinic, I was offered a choice to have my results sent to an independent company. For $120, the company promised an artificial intelligence-based scan of my mammogram to detect breast arterial calcification, a potential indicator of cardiovascular disease.
Insurance covered the mammogram itself. I opted not to pay extra for AI. But days later, I couldn’t help but wonder if I’d made the right choice – and what other AI-based offerings patients might expect while receiving routine care.
So I reached out to David Kao, MD, associate professor of cardiology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and medical director of the Colorado Center for Personalized Medicine. He shared what we all should know about how doctors are using AI in patient care today.
This is the sixth article in an ongoing series on artificial intelligence in the health sciences. See other articles in series.