Thanks to Nvidia and Hippocratic AI, patients will have access to affordable AI nurses. Screenings and medication onboarding are only two of the many services provided by the AI nurses. According to Hippocratic AI, AI nurses can alleviate the increasing scarcity of human nurses in the United States. Nvidia, a tech company based in California, announced a partnership with Hippocratic AI this week. The result? AI-generated nurses that charge under $9 per hour.
AI nurses are a relatively new development in the quest to provide more affordable and individualized healthcare. More than forty healthcare companies are reportedly conducting tests of the technology, as reported by Gizmodo.
Using cheap virtual nurses raises concerns about the reliability of medical advice given by a machine. It has implications for the United States nursing workforce, which has been seeing a major departure of nurses in recent years, mainly because of low wages.
An “AI care manager” named Rachel follows up with a patient named Sarah after she has an appendectomy, as shown in the following demo video.
Sarah has a penicillin allergy, so Rachel checks up with her to make sure she gets her medication. Rachel also tells Sarah to stay away from carbohydrates while she recovers from her surgery, as Sarah has diabetes.
The Job Of AI Nurses Is Answering “Low-Risk” Calls:
The website of Hippocratic AI, which is now open for testing, offers a roster of glowing, glass-skinned nurses that cover a very wide range of therapeutic fields. Among them are:
- Colonoscopies, breast exams, and PAP smear screenings
- Monitoring patients remotely
- Pre-operative care for operations such as hysterectomies and cataract surgeries
- Discharge
- Support for long-term health issues like diabetes, dementia, breast cancer, and asthma
- Nutrition
- Assessing health risks
- Description of advantages
- Participation in ancillary programs
- Recruiting for clinical trials
- Onboarding new medications
- Assessment of Insulin Supply
- Dialysis maintenance
- Assistance with daily tasks, such as a loneliness companion
The website even claims that “engaging” and “direct” are some of the bedside manner choices that patients can use to choose nurses.
It’s Risky To Trust AI With Medical Issues:
Nvidia is one of many AI companies rushing to get into the healthcare industry. From treating obesity and safeguarding brain health to providing mental health services and AI patient consultations, there is a wide choice of ventures to choose from.
While AI has helped with some medical diagnoses that human doctors missed, it has also produced confusing mistakes when employed for tech websites and science fiction writing. It is premature to judge the efficiency of shiny AI nurses in comparison to human ones in detecting less obvious signs or providing sufficient empathy to a troubled patient.
It Does Not Fix Larger Healthcare Problems In The US:
Hippocratic AI presents its affordable and easily accessible AI nurses to address the increasing scarcity of healthcare workers. The problems with the US healthcare system, such as skyrocketing costs and the ongoing closure of hospitals, which make AI nurses attractive, remain unsolved.
According to Futurism, the problem with the nursing shortage is not that nurses are seeking excessive payment, but rather that “by hospital cost-cutting leading to abysmal working conditions, unfair contracts, and low wages.”
We will have to wait and see if AI nurses can reliably provide accurate care. Still, it’s unclear whether entrusting healthcare to polite, emotionless avatars is any better than applying a pixelated band-aid to a rapidly spreading infection.
