Harnessing AI for enhanced evidence-based laboratory medicine (EBLM)

Abstract

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into laboratory medicine, is revolutionizing diagnostic accuracy, operational efficiency, and personalized patient care. AI technologies (machine learning, natural language processing and computer vision) advance evidence-based laboratory medicine (EBLM) by automating and optimizing critical processes (formulating clinical questions, conducting literature searches, appraising evidence, and developing clinical guidelines). These reduce the time for systematic reviews, ensuring consistency in appraisal, and enabling real-time updates to guidelines. AI supports personalized medicine by analyzing large datasets, genetic information and electronic health records (EHRs), to tailor diagnostic and treatment plans to patient profiles. Predictive analytics enhance outcomes by leveraging historical data and ongoing monitoring to predict responses and optimize care pathways. Despite the transformative potential, there are challenges. The accuracy, transparency, and explainability of AI algorithms is critical for gaining trust and ensuring ethical deployment. Integration into existing clinical workflows requires collaboration between AI developers and users to ensure seamless user-friendly adoption. Ethical considerations, such as privacy, data security, and algorithmic bias, must also be addressed to mitigate risks and ensure equitable healthcare delivery. Regulatory frameworks, e.g. The EU AI Regulation, emphasize transparency, data governance, and human oversight, particularly for high-risk AI systems. The economic and operational benefits are cost savings, improved diagnostic precision, and enhanced patient outcomes. Future trends (federated learning and self-supervised learning), will enhance the scalability and applicability of AI in EBLM, paving the way for a new era of precision medicine. AI in EBLM has the potential to transform healthcare delivery, improve patient outcomes, and advance personalized/precision medicine.