Explore the transformative role of AI in healthcare, from improving diagnostics and drug discovery to enhancing patient experiences and alleviating worker strain with Jeanne Greathouse, Sector Director for the Healthcare & Life Sciences, BSI
Expert Perspectives: Jeanne Greathouse
Where are we with the use of AI in healthcare?
Now is an exciting moment. Across the sector, AI is being talked about as part of the future of healthcare, with the global healthcare AI market projected to grow from $20.9bn in 2024 to $148.4bn by 2029. Last year, BSI conducted research on this topic and found that 29% of healthcare professionals globally said they were already using AI in their daily work.
While there is a long way to go, such as ensuring the right infrastructure and skills are in place to make best use of the technology, AI is starting to break ground in ways that could bring benefits, from saving doctors’ time to improving patients’ quality of life; AI has the potential to be transformative in the healthcare sector.
Can AI help doctors predict health outcomes or prevent illness from occurring?
There is huge potential to use AI to improve the accuracy of a diagnosis or speed up recovery times – something that more than half of global adults are excited about according to BSI’s Trust in AI Poll.
It is important to note that AI will not solve all healthcare challenges, especially given aging populations and increasingly complex conditions. However, it does have a role to play in prediction and prevention.
Using algorithms, AI is able to recognize patterns in data and derive conclusions from them. Human cognition is analyzed by such software to determine the connection between different types of treatments and medical outcomes. By considering medical records and data analysis, AI aims to predict and prevent diseases, which could help prevent misdiagnosis as well.
It is still early days, but we are already seeing evidence that AI can predict and diagnose diseases faster than medical professionals. One early study found that an AI model using algorithms and deep learning had an improved accuracy rate compared to 11 pathologists at detecting breast cancer.
How can AI be used in drug discovery and development?
According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), the largest 10 pharmaceutical companies have either partnered with or acquired AI companies to make use of AI-assisted drug development and design.
Applying AI to medical research and drug development has the potential to bring benefits including reduced research costs, avoidance of human errors or the identification of areas of improvement. AI could, for example, detect cell changes that humans cannot see under a microscope , or aid in understanding complex relationships between compounds, proteins, genes and diseases.
The speedy analysis of massive amounts of data could also potentially help get drugs to market faster. And of course, we have already seen the benefits of this. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Pfizer utilized an AI tool to speed up clinical trials of the COVID-19 vaccine. Many of us all around the world benefited from that research and the creation of the vaccine – not just from a health perspective, but as a result of its economic impact as well.
Will AI make life better for patients, or will it just make medical care less personal?
I am optimistic that AI has the potential to deliver the former, because of the way that tools can be deployed to offer remote management of care, outside of the hospital setting. This is something that again, over half of people, support the use of AI for.
Whether it is automated appointment systems that cut waiting times or AI-enhanced healthcare apps that allow remote monitoring to cut time spent at hospitals, there are huge opportunities for improving the patient experience.
For example, automated chats can allow patients to ask medical questions without having to call their doctor. Many have already taken advantage of this option as data suggests 3.1 million patients in the US have chatted with a doctor or nurse via the K Health platform. With real-time health monitoring, patients have the ability to check on their condition through an app offering location and timing flexibility. Additionally, these applications have functionalities that can, for example, alert a doctor if there are any sudden changes in a patient’s vital signs, offering patient’s peace of mind as well.
Of course, with any technology the way it is managed is crucial. If everything is automated that may make medical care delivery less personal –it will be crucial to find the right balance between efficiency and meeting the patient’s individual needs.
How can AI alleviate the strain on the people working in the healthcare sector?
It is fair to say that few industries have been stress-tested as thoroughly as the healthcare system during COVID-19. Three years following the pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) found that 84% of countries were still experiencing some disruption. Four years since the pandemic, healthcare workers around the world are still under immense strain in terms of workload and capacity.
When doctors, nurses and other care workers are stretched thin by administrative tasks, AI tools could offer the opportunity to act as an extra member of staff or an extremely efficient colleague, reducing administrative burdens and helping healthcare professionals meet patient needs.
For example, by automating tasks such as booking appointments and simplifying paperwork, research suggests AI-driven solutions could save workers both time and mental energy, enabling faster and clearer communication with patients. Automated chat responses can, for example, help patients receive answers to simple medical questions without waiting for their doctor to respond.
What is important to understand is that AI will not replace the role of the professional, but could serve to augment it. Fifty-seven percent of people said they support the use of AI tools for treatment as long as it is overseen or managed by a qualified professional. By combining AI-enabled decisions with expert judgment, patients can have peace of mind knowing the human touch is involved in the process, while they are still gaining trust in such technologies.
Jeanne Greathouse, Sector Director for the Healthcare & Life Sciences, BSI

Paving the way for healthy futures through scaling AI and digital trust solutions in Health Technology across the globe, Jeanne is passionate about understanding market challenges and the future needs of the healthcare sector. Jeanne supports key clients and industry partners to develop holistic solutions and industry-wide strategies and programs in AI and digital health in healthcare technology. She has worked with the MedTech and Life Sciences industry for over 15 years to accelerate client and healthcare ecosystem innovation, with the goal of improving patients’ and consumers’ quality of life.
About BSI

BSI is a business improvement and standards company that partners with more than 77,500 clients globally across multiple industry sectors, including healthcare. BSI provides organizations with the confidence to grow by working with them to tackle society’s critical issues – from climate change to building trust in AI and everything in between – to accelerate progress towards a fair society and a sustainable world.
For over a century BSI has been recognized for having a positive impact on organizations and society, building trust and enhancing lives. Today BSI engages with a 15,000 strong global community of experts, industry and consumer groups, organizations and governments to deliver on its purpose by helping its clients fulfill theirs.