Madyson Fitzgerald | Stateline.org (TNS)
Judy Schmidt, a nurse at the Community Medical Center in Toms River, New Jersey, saw the beeping monitors attached to critical patients as a routine part of the activity in the intensive care unit.
Reflecting on her work about ten years ago, Schmidt recognized that those machines were using early forms of artificial intelligence to analyze and monitor the patients’ health.
According to Schmidt, CEO of the New Jersey State Nurses Association, artificial intelligence has been utilized in health care environments for years, predating the technology's widespread public awareness.
Currently, some electronic health records are designed to notify providers when patients may be displaying symptoms of a significant illness. Additionally, in medical education, professors are increasingly relying on simulations involving mannequins, such as those programmed to simulate a birth, she noted.
However, the rapid advancement of these systems — to the extent that they are now used in surgeries — raises practical and ethical concerns for the providers who utilize this technology, according to Schmidt. robotics Some experts assert that AI technology has the potential to enhance the health care industry by automating administrative tasks, providing virtual nursing support, and more. AI systems are capable of predicting if a patient is likely to deteriorate while in the hospital. Virtual assistant chatbots in services enable remote consultations, and more health care providers may begin using AI in the examination room.
Nevertheless, some nurses worry that the lack of laws governing AI's utilization in hospitals means there are inadequate protections for individuals who may suffer from the technology's errors. telehealth Schmidt emphasized the importance of individuals receiving and interpreting the data, and applying it to the actual person in the hospital, nursing home, or their home. robotics Richard Ridge, an assistant nursing professor at the University of Virginia, expressed that state legislators have been slow to establish regulations for AI usage. Additionally, most health care workers rely on policies established by their own hospital or practice, which can vary as the technology becomes more advanced.
He stressed the necessity for legislators to familiarize themselves with AI and consider protections for patients within AI-utilizing systems, stating that nurses should be included in these discussions. beyond Ridge emphasized the value that nurses bring to health care discussions, aiding policymakers and decision-makers in understanding things from the patient's perspective.
He added that it would be disappointing to come across health care AI policies that overlook nurses. Ridge also leads a panel on workforce issues for the Virginia Nurses Association.
While lawmakers in several states have proposed AI in health care bills, only one has been enacted, according to a Stateline survey: a Georgia
that permits the use of artificial intelligence devices in eye examinations.
Pennsylvania bill
that’s currently in a House committee would mandate insurance companies to reveal if they are utilizing AI-based algorithms when assessing claims to decide if medical procedures are necessary.
Pennsylvania state Rep. Arvind Venkat, a Democrat backing the bill and a doctor, stated that the advancement of artificial intelligence means it can be employed to decide if treatments or drugs are not covered by a patient’s insurance. law “One issue we’ve observed with AI is that the information is input into the AI platform, it makes a decision, and it is produced, but that decision is just as good as the data utilized to teach the platform,” Venkat remarked. “Current biases are being strengthened by the usage of artificial intelligence, especially in the field of health insurance.”
One Illinois bill would establish the maximum number of patients that can be assigned to a registered nurse in specific situations. For healthcare facilities employing AI, nurses could override the technology’s suggestions if they believe it is in the patient’s best interest.
The American Nurses Association’s code of ethics, followed by all nurses in the country,
that advanced technologies, including AI, do not replace nursing skills or judgment.
An position statement , the organization stated nurses “are responsible for being informed about and ensuring the appropriate use of AI” for their patients. It also emphasized the importance of nurses being involved in efforts to advocate for an AI governance framework that holds technology developers accountable.
Dan Weberg, the vice president of the American Nurses AssociationCalifornia and an expert in the connection between technology and nursing, remarked that rapid advances in AI are making the issues more complex. states “We’ve been using algorithms and machine-generated insights for a number of years,” Weberg said, “but now, it’s sort of getting more pressing with the complexity. It’s getting more refined with more tools and that kind of stuff.”
In a Albert Fox Cahn, the executive director of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, a nonprofit organization that advocates for privacy rights in the use of new technologies, mentioned that in the absence of federal rules, he hopes state and local policymakers will begin to create policies modeled after that of the European Union.The EU AI Act, which is set to become the world’s first set of
to regulate artificial intelligence, could become the global standard for AI governance. It seeks to define artificial intelligence and would establish regulations for controlling the technology throughout the EU, including prohibited AI practices.
While recognizing the technology’s significant advantages, the legislation
rules for public and private entities — including the healthcare sector — to use risk assessments, testing, and more to ensure AI systems are functioning correctly and safeguarding the rights of its users.
The EU’s artificial intelligence liability laws , which was suggested in September 2022, would reduce the burden of proof for victims to demonstrate damage caused by an AI system.
Cahn said that people in technology policy are very worried right now because new AI systems are being used in various industries, including health care, without the necessary laws to protect people if something goes wrong. establishes Cahn believes that we shouldn't get rid of AI systems, but we shouldn't ignore the risks they pose either. He thinks policymakers should consider all aspects of AI's impact, including the datasets used to train it, which could contain biases leading to discrimination.
Jennifer Shepherd, vice president of the Virginia Nurses Association, noted the challenge of maintaining trust between providers and patients as AI advances. She emphasized the importance of approaching AI systems from a human-centered perspective. directiveShepherd suggested using the term 'human-centered AI' instead of 'AI in health care' or 'evidence-based AI' to make it less scary and keep the focus on humans.
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stateline.org
Stateline is part of . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.Some nurses are worried that the lack of laws regarding AI's use in hospitals means there are no protections for individuals who may suffer from the technology's mistakes.
©2024 States Newsroom. Visit at stateline.org. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
