Google Cloud brought several new AI tools at HIMSS 2024 this week, with the goal of using generative AI to improve patient outcomes.
One of the new tools, dubbed Vertex AI Search, is designed to build better assistive technology for physicians and healthcare providers to ease administrative burdens. First enhanced in the fall, Vertex AI Search includes a medically-tuned search on electronic health records, which allows clinicians to access the most relevant data.
The idea is to help doctors make decisions faster, without the need to click through hundreds of pages of notes or “toggle between different screens and applications,” according to a press release from the tech giant.
“Not all generative AI is created equal, and in healthcare, the stakes are particularly high,” said Aashima Gupta, global director for healthcare strategy and solutions at Google Cloud, in a statement. “Healthcare organizations require enterprise-grade gen AI solutions, grounded in real data.”
Google Cloud cited the financial burden of healthcare administrative costs as being a driver for the new tool, as costs are up to $60 billion annually.
Vertex AI Search also allows doctors to ask the system questions about the patient’s medical history.
“Vertex AI Search for Healthcare is already making a difference for healthcare organizations by helping ensure clinicians have the right information and insights at the right time to inform decisions and improve the overall quality of patient care,” Gupta said.
Richard Clarke, chief data and analytics officer at Highmark Health, added in a statement that the search tool will “enable us to provide even more personalized and proactive care to our members.”
Google Cloud also announced it will add two new features to MedLM, a family of foundation models that are designed for healthcare.
MedLM for Chest X-ray is able to classify chest X-rays and convert images into embeddings, which will then be used to train a classification model in Vertex AI.
Another capability involves a task-specific API dubbed Condition Summary, which can provide a list of patient conditions in chronological order along with descriptions of each condition.
Generative AI has topped the trends list this week at conferences spanning South by Southwest and HIMSS, where GE HealthCare also unveiled some additional products and capabilities.
