Steady Progress of AI Makes its Mark in the Clinic

A 65-year-old man with a remote smoking history is automatically referred to your clinic after an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm-enhanced routine CT screening exam detects a nodule with 90% certainty of malignancy. A 45-year-old woman with metastatic breast cancer arrives at your office and her AI-integrated electronic health record (EHR) algorithm alerts you that she has a 60% probability of a major cardiac event within 5 years if given an anthracycline. You hold an uninterrupted, computer screen–free discussion with your patient about their newly diagnosed pancreatic cancer; meanwhile, an AI-powered device processes the conversation and produces all documentation and billing information. Only a few years ago, these imagined scenarios may have seemed far-fetched, but no longer. Increasingly, and with exponential pace, AI algorithms are finding their way into the oncology clinic.