Kaiser Permanente, a leading health care provider, has recently announced the launch of the Augmented Intelligence in Medicine and Healthcare Initiative (AIM-HI) Coordinating Center to strengthen their efforts in the research of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) algorithms in health care. Supported by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the AIM-HI program will grant up to $750,000 to three to five health care systems in the United States for experimenting with AI and ML technology for more accurate diagnoses and patient outcomes.
AI and Machine Learning algorithms have recently been looked into for their potential in developing early warning systems that analyze patient data to determine if a patient is at risk for further medical complications, along with chatbot-like language models to help streamline medical record taking and computer vision technology to analyze medical images for identifying tumors or other major illnesses. The program is looking to prove the promises AI and ML hold for the patients and physicians in the health care sector. Vincent Liu, MD, leading the AIM-HI program, said, “It’s vital that we use these powerful tools thoughtfully and in a way that scales to benefit patients, physicians and care teams”.
Stephen Parodi, MD, Executive Vice President of The Permanente Federation, is hopeful for the impact this new program could have on health care systems of all sizes. He commented on the success the program had already seen through their early warning systems and expressed that the goal with this initiative is to support the spread of work showing impact in the health care industry.
Kaiser Permanente’s mission is to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of their members and the communities they serve. Established in 1945, they have since grown to the nation’s largest not-for-profit health plan with integrated care delivery system. They are committed to providing health solutions for over 74 million people, and continue to pursue bold initiatives that create healthier communities. With the launch of AIM-HI, they are aiming to provide quality care while using valuable technology.
