Patients are about to see a new doctor: artificial intelligence

The World Health Organization has estimated that there is a global shortfall of approximately 4.3 million doctors and nurses, with poorer countries disproportionately impacted. In the U.S., these shortages are less acute; instead, the country struggles with ever-increasing health care costs, which often translate into limits on the time a patient is able to spend with a doctor. One study estimated that U.S. doctors spend on average just 13 to 16 minutes with each patient. So against this backdrop of a global shortage in doctors and nurses, and cost-driven strains in patient care, let's take a look at some of the ways AI systems are being evaluated for use in medical care. In August 2016, an artificially intelligent supercomputer did in 10 minutes what would have taken human doctors weeks to achieve.