Kaiser Permanente VP warns of growing AI divide in healthcare

Kaiser Permanente VP warns of growing AI divide in healthcare unknown

Daniel Yang, MD, vice president of artificial intelligence and emerging technologies at Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente, is concerned about a growing divide in AI adoption, where some health systems can afford the technology while others cannot, The Wall Street Journal reported Aug. 21.

Dr. Yang told the publication that he is worried about a "two-tiered system of AI."

"The AI 'haves' are going to be large, well-resourced systems like Kaiser Permanente that will put the time and energy into testing, evaluating and responsibly deploying AI technologies to the benefit of our members," he told The Journal. "And the AI 'have-nots' will be health systems like county health systems, federally qualified health centers, rural hospitals that either don't have the infrastructure or know-how to deploy the AI technologies, or they deploy without fully understanding how they work and their limitations."

According to Dr. Yang, the enthusiasm for developing AI tools hasn't been matched by the same level of commitment to testing, validating and demonstrating their safety and effectiveness. While significant effort is being put into development, the infrastructure needed to support responsible AI has yet to catch up.

"I think a lot of people fail to realize that developing the algorithm is really the easy part. The part that really takes work, and the part that adds value, is redesigning the workflow to accommodate the AI tool," he told The Journal. "There are a lot of great solutions on paper, but the healthcare systems may not have the expertise or the interest to really redesign the workflow to maximize the benefit from that AI tool."