Harvey: Welcome to the GPT podcast.com I'm Harvey, along with my co-host Brooks, and this is our AI in Healthcare Series. Today we're diving into a piece by Vijay Pande. His article sheds light on the democratization of healthcare through AI. The focus is not really on the quality of care, but rather on access to care. 
Brooks: Interesting. I think most of us assume that the biggest healthcare issue in the U.S. is quality. Can you give us some figures on the accessibility problem? 
Harvey: Definitely. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 20% of adults lack a regular source of healthcare. And if we look at lifespan, the wealthiest Americans gained about five years of additional longevity between 2000 and 2014, whereas the poorest didn't see any change.
Brooks: That's quite a gap. What factors contribute to this increasing divide, Harvey?
Harvey: There are many factors, medical, socioeconomic, and the fact that there just aren’t enough physicians available, especially where they're most needed. Top healthcare providers are naturally attracted to big hospitals, with the best colleagues, in the most appealing places to live, serving patients who can pay for services. But another big contributor to the problem is the soaring prices of medical treatment. 
Brooks: That's a lot to take in. The disparity in access and the rising prices, quite a duo there. How does AI address these issues, ? 
Harvey: That's a great question, The idea of AI in healthcare is to help bring down prices and increase access. It’s like...bringing together 50 experts for each patient, without them having to physically be there. This happens by codifying the knowledge, experience, and understanding of these experts. This is essentially what AI is good at, gathering a vast amount of evidence and analyzing it swiftly.
Brooks: So it's like having an amplified version of a doctor's collective wisdom. And I imagine this also means that there will be fewer chances of individual bias or error affecting the patient's diagnosis and treatment, right? 
Harvey: Precisely, The output we get is based on the data from thousands of patient-health scenarios rather than just one. So the chances of coming across a new diagnosis or an unfamiliar symptom are slim for an AI-based system. And get this, AI can recall every bit of your health history, providing doctors with longitudinal data. 
Brooks: Longitudinal data? Could you elaborate a bit on that, ?
Harvey: Sure, Longitudinal data is like a record of a patient's health over time. It gives insight on what changes are regular for a specific patient, as opposed to what changes would be considered irregular. Now, why this is crucial is because sometimes a person could have a certain condition not because they exhibit high levels compared to the population, but high levels compared to their own baseline. 
Brooks: That makes sense. In that way, the AI system can provide a more personalized and accurate analysis of someone's health conditions. Now, how would this practically look like, ? 
Harvey: Well, imagine waking up, looking in your mirror, brushing your teeth and your home is the doctor's office, providing a mini physical every day. That mirror could be AI enabled to look for dermatology, ophthalmology issues. Your toilet could run a urinalysis, and your toothbrush could gather DNA from saliva. That's right, your bathroom can become a data gold mine, keeping a tab on your health every single day. 
Brooks: It seems we've come a long way in healthcare technology. But I can't help thinking all this powerful technology would be pointless unless we make changes in our healthcare system as well. 
Harvey: You're absolutely right, We need the standard of care to change and incorporate this technology. AI won’t replace doctors, instead, it will extend their reach and make it possible to recreate the medical expertise of 10,000 doctors swiftly and at lower costs anywhere in the world. This has the potential to truly democratize healthcare. 
Brooks: Quite a thought to end on, Leveraging AI to enable access to quality healthcare for everyone, regardless of where they live or their economic status, it's certainly something to look forward to. 
Harvey: Indeed, Thanks for joining me. Until our next episode on the AI in Healthcare series, this is  and signing off.