Ask the expert: How AI can advance veteran health care  

According to the 2023 U.S. Census, there are almost 16 million military veterans in the U.S. The House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs invited experts to speak about using artificial intelligence to transform health care delivery, streamline services and improve outcomes for veterans.

Mohammad Ghassemi, an assistant professor in the College of Engineering at Michigan State University, is an expert in how AI can broadly advance health care in ways directly relevant to the needs of patients, including veterans. Ghassemi presented testimony to the Technology Modernization Subcommittee in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 15. Here, Ghassemi shares insights on how AI could improve health care delivery and outcomes in the future.

How can AI transform health care delivery?

AI can transform what happens during care itself. Clinicians today spend hours on paperwork, but AI transcription programs can generate notes automatically so physicians can focus more fully on patients. In emergency rooms, decision tools powered by AI can help identify the sickest patients sooner by assessing patient’s symptoms to ensure they receive treatment sooner. Thirdly, continuous monitoring systems such as a heart monitor can pick up on early signs of atrial fibrillation long before it would be obvious to the human eye. These tools increase the safety and timeliness of care while keeping the physician focused on the patient.

AI can streamline the things happening behind the scenes that impact health care. How does that work?

Missed appointments waste already scarce clinical time, but automated reminder systems have already been shown to reduce the number of no-shows. Patients also too often fall through the cracks between primary care and specialists. AI can flag missing referral information, track follow-up instructions and prevent these gaps.

For example, when imaging or lab results reveal an unexpected finding — like a lung nodule discovered by chance — AI tracking systems can ensure these findings are followed up with a clinician so that treatable conditions are not overlooked.

How can AI improve patient outcomes?

AI can improve patient outcomes by personalizing medicine in ways clinicians cannot do alone. For patients with chronic conditions, AI can monitor whether prescriptions, labs or follow-up visits are missed and trigger digital reminders to keep care on track. Predictive modeling can scan population data to identify patients at high risk of medical crises such as overdose or readmission, enabling outreach before harm occurs. And in the most critical settings, AI can help guide life-or-death decisions. My research has shown that brainwave data from EEG scans analyzed with AI can more accurately predict recovery after cardiac arrest, helping doctors avoid ending treatment too soon and focusing resources where recovery is possible.

Artificial intelligence is not a silver bullet, but it can already help with delivering better care, strengthening clinical judgment and turning complex data into actionable insight. To succeed going forward, we need disciplined pilots, clear metrics and safeguards for safety, equity and privacy.

If deployed with care, AI can return time from paperwork to patients, ensure that critical findings are not missed and support clinicians in their hardest decisions. It can help deliver care that is more efficient, more responsive and more humane for our veterans.

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