Revolutionizing Healthcare: The Rise of Large Language Models and Generative AI

The adoption of large language models and generative AI in healthcare is on the rise, with budgeting increasing by as much as 300% year over year. This article explores the top use cases, evaluation criteria, and future implications of this trend.

The Rise of Large Language Models in Healthcare: A New Era of Efficiency

The healthcare industry is witnessing a significant surge in the adoption of large language models (LLMs) and other generative AI options. According to a recent survey, budgeting for generative AI in healthcare has skyrocketed by as much as 300% year over year. This growth is driven by the increasing need for efficient and accessible healthcare.

Healthcare technology advancements

The survey, which polled 304 respondents from various healthcare organizations, reveals that provider organizations make up the bulk of the field, followed by healthtech executives, pharma professionals, digital health representatives, and others.

“The shared belief that LLMs will have the most transformative impact on patient-facing applications—such as transcribing conversations, providing medical chatbots, and answering patient questions—aligns with the growing need for accessible and efficient healthcare.”

Top Use Cases for Large Language Models

The survey highlights the top use cases for LLMs in healthcare, including:

Answering patient questions (21% of respondents)
Medical chatbots (20%)
Information extraction/data abstraction (19%)
Biomedical research (18%)
Clinical coding/Chart audit (17%)

Medical chatbots are becoming increasingly popular

Evaluating Large Language Models

When evaluating LLMs, respondents prioritized accuracy, security and privacy risk, healthcare-specific capabilities, reproducibility, and transparency. Cost was also a significant consideration.

“With continued investment, collaboration, and thoughtful implementation, GenAI stands to redefine healthcare in ways we are only beginning to imagine.”

The Future of Healthcare

As the healthcare industry continues to adopt LLMs and other generative AI options, we can expect to see significant improvements in patient care and operational efficiency. With the right implementation and safeguards in place, the potential benefits of GenAI in healthcare are vast and exciting.

Healthcare innovation is on the rise