Hippocratic's generative AI for healthcare: supplement, not substitute, for nurses?

Around the world, healthcare systems are struggling to hire nurses. Hospitals blame massive shortages; nurses say the staffing crisis is caused by low pay and poor working conditions, often due to intentional, profit-driven understaffing. Whatever the cause, the result is overworked staff and less access to care for patients.

Hippocratic's agents offer a solution not by replacing nurses, but by taking on routine tasks like patient education and admin, freeing up human staff for more complex work. Besides shorter wait times and improved access — agents are on call 24/7 — patients could also benefit in other ways. Without worrying about taking up too much of a nurse's time, they can ask agents to repeat instructions or pose a question they might feel is 'dumb.' And Diane and Nancy never have a bad day or run out of patience.

Only time will tell if gen AI healthcare assistants prove viable and trustworthy. What's certain is that robust ethical guidelines and safety guardrails must be put in place: strict oversight and auditing processes, transparency around the AI's training data and potential biases, clear policies limiting AI involvement to low-risk tasks, and prioritizing human medical expertise for high-stakes decisions impacting patient health. When it comes to sensitive domains like healthcare and education, public trust hinges on meticulous execution.