3 ms·

People get tripped up by thinking "there is a subset of what I do that only humans can do and so that means AI will not eliminate my profession entirely and my

by qgin 1y ago

People get tripped up by thinking "there is a subset of what I do that only humans can do and so that means AI will not eliminate my profession entirely and my job is safe". Let's assume for now that it's true that AI can't do a certain subset of your work. Your profession won't be eliminated from the earth, that's true. But if 80% of your work can be done by AI, 80% of your work will be done by AI. There will still be humans kept around for that remaining 20%, but fewer of them will be needed.

nradov 1y ago
The demand for radiologists is effectively infinite. Right now the healthcare system is supply constrained. If AI tools reduce the work of reading an image then more imaging studies will be ordered. Also, many radiologists do interventional procedures directly with patients. We're a long, long way from being able to significantly automate that work.
- seesthruya 1y ago
  This is 100% true and very insightful, but not obvious to people who don't work in healthcare.
- SoftTalker 1y ago
  So I recently needed an MRI to evaluate a rotator cuff injury. Because MRIs are expensive, insurnace required that I do 6 weeks of physical therapy first to see if that would resolve it. Is this because the imaging process is so expensive, or because the radiologist who reads the image is so expensive? If demand for an expensive imaging process increases, it will get even more expensive.
  - nradov 1y ago
    MRI machines and radiologist reads are both expensive. These are among the largest areas of medical spending for most health plans (and those costs are largely passed on to subscribers and employers). Many rotator cuff injuries do improve to some extent with targeted physical therapy. You can accomplish a lot by strengthening the stabilizer muscles, and by learning how to set your shoulder joint in the correct position before taking a load. So the insurer's position is reasonable for most cases. If the injury is more severe then your doctor can submit a request to skip the normal step therapy process.
  - seesthruya 1y ago
    When you get a medical test like an MRI, there is both a technical fee and a professional fee that is paid. For a shoulder MRI, the technical fee, which goes to the facility that performs the scan, maybe $1,500. The professional fee, that goes to the radiologist that interprets the scan, maybe $80. Patients often only see a global fee.

by qgin 1y ago

nradov 1y ago

The demand for radiologists is effectively infinite. Right now the healthcare system is supply constrained. If AI tools reduce the work of reading an image then more imaging studies will be ordered. Also, many radiologists do interventional procedures directly with patients. We're a long, long way from being able to significantly automate that work.

seesthruya 1y ago
This is 100% true and very insightful, but not obvious to people who don't work in healthcare.
SoftTalker 1y ago
So I recently needed an MRI to evaluate a rotator cuff injury. Because MRIs are expensive, insurnace required that I do 6 weeks of physical therapy first to see if that would resolve it. Is this because the imaging process is so expensive, or because the radiologist who reads the image is so expensive? If demand for an expensive imaging process increases, it will get even more expensive.
- nradov 1y ago
  MRI machines and radiologist reads are both expensive. These are among the largest areas of medical spending for most health plans (and those costs are largely passed on to subscribers and employers). Many rotator cuff injuries do improve to some extent with targeted physical therapy. You can accomplish a lot by strengthening the stabilizer muscles, and by learning how to set your shoulder joint in the correct position before taking a load. So the insurer's position is reasonable for most cases. If the injury is more severe then your doctor can submit a request to skip the normal step therapy process.
- seesthruya 1y ago
  When you get a medical test like an MRI, there is both a technical fee and a professional fee that is paid. For a shoulder MRI, the technical fee, which goes to the facility that performs the scan, maybe $1,500. The professional fee, that goes to the radiologist that interprets the scan, maybe $80. Patients often only see a global fee.