Technology is driving a major revolution in patient care. These days, wearable devices and healthcare applications on smartphones are putting the power into patients' hands, allowing them to be more involved in their healthcare and in improving their overall health and wellness. At the same time, robots are now making their way into hospitals around the world, easing personnel shortages and enabling better care for patients. But these changes are just the beginning. Artificial intelligence (AI) is paving the way for smarter healthcare robots, improved drug development, advanced wearables, and a fundamental change in how we approach patient care, emphasizing preventative care over unnecessary interventions.

Among the oft-asked questions about AI is, "Will it put doctors out of business?" And while the question is of interest to pretty much everyone, no one has a more immediately vested interest in it than doctors themselves, except perhaps medical students still training to become doctors. Not surprisingly, then, AAMC News, a media outlet for the Association of American Medical Colleges, recently ran a long article that looked at the question in depth. "An array of studies have offered glimpses of AI's enormous potential," writer noted early on. From algorithms out-performing radiologists in identifying myriad forms of cancer, to AI detecting rare hereditary diseases in children, to predicting the cognitive decline in Alzheimer's patients, the triumph of AI over human counterparts has been documented far and wide.

How will AI change healthcare? "I'm sorry, you have cancer." These are words NO one wants to hear. When my father-in-law was diagnosed with cancer, I truly wish he'd had access to the amazing healthcare possibilities enabled by AI. Incredibly, a flawed second opinion probably saved his life--and nearly killed him.