Seeing Eye to AI: Artificial Intelligence in Eye Care

While generative artificial intelligence (AI) technology like ChatGPT took the world by storm in 2023, we've been living with forms of AI for quite some time.

From making payments with facial recognition, to curated playlists on streaming platforms, to autocorrected typos in that email that went to the entire practice, AI is already ingrained in our everyday lives. It's quickly earning its place in health care fields, too, including optometry.

What is AI?

AI is the ability of machines and computers to perform tasks that have historically required human problem-solving.

Just as the barista at your favorite, frequented cafe knows your order as soon as you walk in, AI recognizes a stimulus, then pulls information about what to do next from an extensive, ever-evolving database. Some forms of AI know not only what kind of metaphorical coffee to make, but how to make it.

While the idea is thrilling to some, others are uncertain about this new frontier. According to a December 2022 survey from the Pew Research Center, 15% of respondents were excited about AI, while 38% were more concerned than excited. The remaining 46% were equally concerned and excited.

AI's application to health care presents concerns around data privacy, regulatory parameters, patient comfort, and harmful biases that still require human intervention. This is why AI is poised to enhance, not replace, a human workforce. Properly applied, AI can alleviate staffing shortages that plague the eye care field and minimize burnout for practice staff who already take on more tasks than their job entails.

AI’s place in eye care

There are, of course, use cases for AI on the practice management side of optometry, such as patient intake, record management, and appointment scheduling.

But it also plays a role on the medical side, especially as AI's image analysis and generation abilities become more refined. Unlike other medical fields, optometry and ophthalmology allow for noninvasive photos of the eye. Machines can then analyze these images, helping make diagnoses in conjunction with a doctor’s expertise.

AI has accessibility applications, too. Some doctors already use virtual reality headsets to perform exams on patients who have trouble keeping still in a traditional setting, such as young children, seniors, or people with disabilities.

How Eyefinity uses AI

You may already be familiar with some of the ways Eyefinity^® software implements non-generative AI, machine learning, and smart algorithms: Kaleyedoscope frame board replacements, contact lens prescriptions, or chief complaints in Eyefinity Encompass^TM all make use of these technologies.

However, that's just the beginning. In the coming years, Eyefinity plans to roll out an AI-based scribe feature that will document exam findings based on securely captured and consensual doctor-patient conversations. We are also exploring AI's potential to optimize patient booking, translate insurance benefit documents, predict claim success, and more to help your practice run seamlessly alongside your already stellar staff.

Looking toward the future

With well-trained and responsibly deployed AI guided by human oversight, you and your patients get the best of both worlds. Machines provide a level of thoroughness and efficiency a human cannot, while humans provide the compassion and consideration a machine cannot.

Moving forward, Eyefinity aspires to utilize AI in a way that is ethical, human-centered, and non-biased. We're proceeding cautiously but bravely into the future, one step at a time.

Interested in learning more about intelligent, cloud-based software that benefits your practice? Sign up for a demo today!