No, AI will not replace radiologists

Ever since artificial intelligence (AI) became one of the biggest topics in radiology, there has been a debate about whether AI would eventually replace radiologists. 

Thomas H. Davenport, a professor at Babson College, and Keith Dreyer, DO, PhD, vice chairman and associate professor of radiology at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, collaborated on a new commentary on the topic for Harvard Business Review. And they think the jobs of radiologists are safe.

“Some medical students have reportedly decided not to specialize in radiology because they fear the job will cease to exist,” Davenport and Dreyer wrote. “We’re confident, however, that the great majority of radiologists will continue to have jobs in the decades to come—jobs that will be altered and enhanced by AI.”

The authors then listed some specific reasons they feel radiologists won’t be replaced by these new technologies. If anything, they noted, radiologists who don’t embrace AI could be the ones in trouble.

“There are substantial medical and productivity benefits to be gained from integrating AI with radiological practice,” Davenport and Dreyer wrote. “The productivity improvements may even mean that radiologists can spend more time doing what many of them find most fulfilling: consulting with other physicians about diagnoses and treatment strategies. If the predicted improvements in deep learning image analysis are realized, then providers, patients, and payers will gravitate toward the radiologists who have figured out how to work effectively alongside AI.”

To read more of Dreyer’s perspective on AI, read his recent interview with Radiology Business here.

Click the link below to read the full commentary from Harvard Business Review.