Google, Mayo Clinic develop AI tool

Google Cloud and Mayo Clinic have joined forces to pioneer the use of Google’s Enterprise Search in Generative AI App Builder (Gen App Builder) in healthcare. The HIPAA-compliant generative AI search tool will be used to improve clinician workflows and make information retrieval easier and faster for clinicians.  

In making diagnoses and treatment plans, clinicians rely on information from medical records, the latest research, and clinical guidelines. By leveraging this technology, clinicians can search for information across the many different formats and locations in which healthcare data is stored.  

 “Google Cloud’s tools have the potential to unlock sources of information that typically aren’t searchable in a conventional manner, or are difficult to access or interpret, from a patient’s complex medical history to their imaging, genomics, and labs. Accessing insights more quickly and easily could drive more cures, create more connections with patients, and transform healthcare,” said Cris Ross, Mayo Clinic’s Chief Information Officer in a press release. 

The generative AI tool could quickly find relevant data in one patient’s health record that might have up to 8,000 data points, Vish Anantraman, MD, chief technology officer of Mayo, told Post Bulletin. Mining for one answer to one question can be a time-consuming mission and the tool will save invaluable time.  

Anantraman shares an example of a clinician who wants to find out if a patient is a smoker. Typically, if the exact words “smoker” or “smoking” don’t appear in the patient’s records, then the search engine would not indicate that the patient is a smoker. However, Enterprise Search can search for meaning beyond exact keywords. If a clinician wanted to answer the same question using the Enterprise Search tool, the AI could show a record saying “patient consumed tobacco five years ago.”  

The Enterprise Search tool will enhance providers’ ability to connect patients to clinical trials and emerging treatments. 

“Imagine I can ask — maybe not too (far) in the future — the search engine, ‘Does a 60-year-old male who is suffering from sickle cell anemia and has XYZ gene eligible for any new clinical trials?'” Anantraman continued. “If this technology works as promised … it would simply go and search through hundreds of web pages of criteria for this clinical trial and instantly give you back an answer.” 

Anatraman and Mayo Clinic are dedicated to creating an environment of “safe sandboxes” that will give Google the ability to test the technology in a safe and cautious way.  

“Our prioritization of patient safety, privacy, and ethical considerations, means that generative AI can have a significant and positive impact on how we work and deliver healthcare,” Ross shared.  

Anatraman praised the Enterprise Search tool for already helping to relieve administrative burdens. 

“Generative AI has the potential to transform healthcare by enhancing human interactions and automating operations like never before,” said Thomas Kurian, Google Cloud CEO in the press release.”Mayo Clinic is a world leader in leveraging AI for good, and they are a critical partner as we identify responsible ways to bring this transformative technology to healthcare.”