Reimagining Businesses with AI

CHAPTER 3Transforming Healthcare with AI

“We should think about AI the way we think about patient care – as a continuum, spanning care areas and disease states.”

—Dr. Mark Michalaski, clinical data scientist

INTRODUCTION

Healthcare is one of the largest and most important industries globally. The recent COVID-19 crisis has made this the most important industry today and it will continue to occupy the center stage for many years to come. By 2023, the healthcare industry is expected to reach $12 trillion globally.⁽¹⁾ Starting in 2018/19, the growth rate for this industry has been nearly 9%. This has accelerated by over 100 basis points when compared to five years back. This is driven by major macroeconomic shifts around the world that we will discuss in the next section. As big as the industry is, it is also highly fragmented. The top players globally and collectively represent merely a single-digit share in the healthcare economy.

Healthcare is a very multifaceted industry. It has employed a lot of people and has been the cornerstone of many technological advancements that have permeated to other industries as well. However, the growing share of healthcare as a percentage of the nation's GDP drains resources that are required for other aspects of economies. In the United States, national health spending is projected to be nearly 20% of the GDP by 2025, which is just around the corner. In the 1960s, this impact was one-fourth of what it is shaping up to be today. In nearly ...