President’s Message Summer 2024
by David E. Bobman, MD
President of the Chester County Medical Society
Artificial intelligence. This is a term that conjures up a plethora of ideas and emotions. To some, this evokes sci-fi images, at times unnerving, similar to HAL in 2001: A Space Odyssey, or of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s role in the Terminator movies. Others may see this in a more hopeful light, as the technology of the future, helping and improving our abilities in a variety of areas.
In an excellent article by Jesse Corn of Forbes Business Counsel, he writes “From predictive and personalized treatment plans to models for early diagnosis, AI is already transforming the healthcare sector in unprecedented ways.” However, as with any technology, there are pros and cons. We are seeing this appear in many areas including glucose monitors, smart watches, EKG interpretation, assisting in reading mammography to name a few. Another important area includes monitoring for prescription drug interactions or contraindications. AI may also improve efficiency in our offices by assisting in scheduling, billing, and voice recognition software.
On the other hand, using artificial intelligence raises many concerns. Among them includes patient privacy and security of records. While artificial intelligence does amazing things (eg. Chat GPT) the accuracy of its content is not always correct. This may lead to diagnostic mistakes if its results are not well vetted. Furthermore, this creates a legal dilemma as to who, or what, is responsible for these errors. Additionally, artificial intelligence may lead to a loss of jobs, not only in medicine, but also in many fields of employment. These issues are illustrated by a recent nursing protest in California (Kaiser Permanente- San Francisco) which occurred over these concerns- both accuracy of its results and loss of nursing jobs.
Like it or not, incorporation of artificial intelligence technology into medical care is here to stay. As with any new technology, we need to proceed slowly and carefully to see that appropriate safeguards are in place. As many of us, myself included, are relative neophytes to this technology, the Chester County Medical Society will be hosting Dr Kevin B. Johnson, MD at our annual physician dinner on September 19. His degrees and accolades are too numerous to mention here, though he is VP for Applied Informatics in the University of Pennsylvania Health System. He will be speaking on “Utilizing AI to help Doctors Doctor: Opportunities and Challenges”. We expect this will be a terrific presentation and encourage anyone interested to attend.
David E. Bobman MD, FACP, AGAF
President, CCMS
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