Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Medical Information Services

A few years ago, we witnessed the heralding of the imminent rise of artificial intelligence (AI) to support medical information services provided through industry-based contact centers. And, in some cases, the message Lonnie Corant Jaman Shuka Rashid Lynn (better known as Common) shares in recent Microsoft commercials is our reality: we have more power at our fingertips than generations before us. But witnessing the rise of AI and actually experiencing it are two different realities. In retrospect, for medical information services, these emerging technologies were overhyped when first introduced to the market in terms of how feasibly they could be applied in practical applications capable of creating a positive return on investment. Many larger companies invested in machine learning ‘pilot’ programs that appeared to produce less than positive outcomes, and the term “over-innovating” entered the corporate lexicon.

EVERSANA’s Thomas Barton provides insight into the rise and fall and rise of AI in the August issue of Med Ad News. In this article, he covers the following topics in relation to AI’s potential to improve efficiency and regulatory compliance throughout the life sciences industries.

• The gold rush toward AI has been fueled by exaggerating its capabilities and overgeneralizing the ways the technology could be applied in real-world settings
• Challenges to AI in Provision of Medical Information Services (MIS), including computer system validation (CSV)
• Hurdles to the medical information industry in implementing AI, including adverse event and product complaint recognition and unsolicited requests for off-label use information
• Yet, despite challenges, the provision of industry-based medical information services otherwise presents an almost ideal case for the application of AI
• How the future of medical information services definitely includes automation