The Evolution of Healthcare: How AI is Transforming the Industry

Healthcare has traditionally been slower to adopt new technologies compared to other industries. However, the emergence of Generative AI (Gen AI) is changing this narrative. Gen AI has the potential to alleviate many administrative burdens in healthcare, such as locating specific information in medical records, drafting paperwork, and identifying candidates for clinical trials. As Gen AI continues to evolve from a buzzword to a business essential, advancements like AI agents, AI-powered search, and AI platforms are creating new opportunities for healthcare transformation.

Harnessing the Power of AI at HIMSS 25

At the recent HIMSS 25 healthcare conference, we showcased how healthcare organizations are leveraging Google Cloud’s Gen AI to develop agents and search tools that reduce administrative burdens on doctors and nurses, enabling them to provide better care.

AI Agents in Healthcare

AI agents are sophisticated technologies designed to perform tasks autonomously, often mimicking human cognitive abilities. In healthcare, these agents can take on various roles, ranging from scheduling appointments to analyzing medical images. While still in the early stages, researchers are exploring AI agents for applications such as personalized medicine, remote patient monitoring, and drug discovery and development.

Basalt Health: Leveraging AI Agents for Medical Assistants

Basalt Health has announced the launch of advanced AI agents to support medical assistants (MAs). These agents help MAs prepare for upcoming patient visits by preparing patient charts and performing administrative tasks. They can also identify care gaps and potential health risks, such as flagging important screenings for mammograms or colonoscopies. Basalt’s agents operate within a secure Google Cloud environment, utilizing Vertex AI, Gemini, and other Google Cloud technologies to deliver high accuracy and reliability. The development of these agents prioritizes maintaining ethical standards, ensuring transparency, and addressing concerns such as data privacy and algorithmic bias.

Google Agentspace: Simplifying AI Agent Development

Google Agentspace enables organizations to build AI agents with Gemini’s advanced reasoning, Google-quality search, and enterprise data. It provides the necessary tools and infrastructure to connect agents to data sources, define workflows, and manage performance.

The Power of Gen AI Search

The healthcare industry generates vast amounts of data, making it challenging for healthcare workers to find the information they need. AI-powered search tools go beyond traditional keyword search, utilizing natural language processing and machine learning to understand the context and intent behind search queries. This allows organizations to provide the most relevant and accurate information, even if it’s buried deep within a vast database.

Real-World Applications of Gen AI Search

Several organizations showcased their use of Vertex AI Search for healthcare at HIMSS, demonstrating how it provides clinicians with access to critical information, contributing to better patient outcomes.

• Freenome: Identifying Candidates for Cancer Screenings

Biotech company Freenome is working with Google Cloud to improve colorectal cancer screening rates. Freenome has developed a blood test for early CRC detection and will use Google Cloud’s AI tools to identify patients who should be prioritized for screening. By analyzing deidentified patient data, including risk factors, demographics, and social determinants of health, Freenome can identify people who may have been missed by standard screening procedures.

• Counterpart Health: Earlier Identification and Management of Diseases

Counterpart Health, a subsidiary of Clover Health, announced it is using Vertex AI Search for healthcare in its Counterpart Assistant software to enable a generative AI search experience across a patient’s entire digital health record at the point of care. This enables clinicians to quickly access critical insights synthesized from over 100 integrated data sources, supporting early diagnosis and effective chronic disease management for value-based care.

• MEDITECH: Helping Clinicians Find What They Need

MEDITECH has integrated AI-powered search and summarization directly into its electronic health records system, Expanse. This enables clinicians to instantly receive a summarized view of relevant patient records, lab results, and previous notes, all within their familiar workflows. This saves time and helps clinicians make more informed decisions.

• Suki: Ambient AI with Search

Suki announced how its AI assistant allows doctors to use natural language to ask questions and receive concise, AI-generated answers. These new features, built with Vertex AI Search for healthcare, make Suki one of the industry’s first end-to-end clinical assistants offering support for a broad range of tasks, including ambient documentation, coding suggestions, patient record summaries, medical reference answers, and more.

Experience the Future of Healthcare at HIMSS

Visit Google Cloud at HIMSS booth #673 to see these exciting new technologies in action. You can also read more about the news in Google Cloud’s Press Corner.