While artificial intelligence is a buzzword within the healthcare industry, there is a lack of real-world solutions aimed at ameliorating major public health issues. To spur the advancement of AI technology for the healthcare industry, IBM Watson Health has announced a 10-year, $50M investment in research collaborations with Brigham and Women’s Hospital, the teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School, and Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
A key area of focus will be studying how AI can utilize electronic health records and claims data to address public health issues such as precision medicine, health equity, and patient safety. Additional research will be conducted to explore the physician and patient user experience with AI technologies. The collaboration will combine IBM Watson’s expertise in artificial intelligence with the “best health informatics researchers in the world,” in hopes of accelerating the development of real-world AI-solutions “to improve the utility of the EHR and claims data to address major public health issues.”