Artificial Intelligence Predicts Death 9 Out of 10 Times

Nine times out of 10, an artificial intelligence (AI) program can accurately predict whether a seriously ill hospital patient will die within 3 to 12 months.[1]

This tool could play a significant role in improving the quality of life for patients and their families. Currently, roughly 80 percent of Americans would prefer to die at home (if possible). But only 20 percent do. Instead, 60 percent die in hospitals and 20 percent in nursing homes.[2]

Perhaps even more significant, less than half of terminally ill patients currently receive palliative care. According to PalliativeCare.org, "This type of care is focused on providing relief from the symptoms and stress of a serious illness. The goal is to improve quality of life for both the patient and the family." Rather than spending their final months receiving expensive and often uncomfortable treatments designed to prolong life, patients can spend their time with families and loved ones.[3]

More testing will be needed before this protocol can be implemented, but it is yet another indication of the potential for technology to reshape healthcare practices.

Several earlier Numbers of the Day have addressed healthcare topics:

• 61 percent of Americans have no opinion on Medicare for All (December 14, 2017)
• 71 percent of Americans favor major changes to or repeal of Obamacare (December 6, 2017)
• 33 percent of Americans support single-payer healthcare plan (August 16, 2017)
• 2.4 million people have only one insurance option on healthcare exchanges (August 15, 2017)
• 6.5 million Americans paid a fine rather than signing up for Obamacare coverage (August 9, 2017)
• 15% increase in top hospitals' revenue during first two years of Obamacare (July 31, 2017)
• 15 million Americans would opt out of Obamacare coverage if they could (July 27, 2017)
• 20 Republican senators from states that expanded Medicaid under Obamacare (July 12, 2017)
• 191 congressional Democrats who voted for Obamacare are no longer in office (June 9, 2017)
• 36 hospitals across 10 states owned by Steward Health Care System (May 26, 2017)
• 11 percent: Share of healthcare spending controlled by patients (April 6, 2017)
• 11.03 dollars per hour: Average cost of non-salary benefits provided to American workers (March 30, 2017)
• 101 minutes: The average time spent in the waiting room and traveling to see a doctor (March 23, 2017)

Footnotes:

1. NBC News, "AI can predict when we'll die — here's why that's a good thing," February 03, 2018
2. Stanford School of Medicine, "Where do Americans die?" accessed February 6, 2018

GetPalliativeCare.org, "What Is Palliative Care?" accessed February 6, 2018

Each weekday, Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day explores interesting and newsworthy topics at the intersection of culture, politics, and technology. Columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.​

Scott Rasmussen is founder and president of the Rasmussen Media Group. He is the author of "Mad as Hell: How the Tea Party Movement Is Fundamentally Remaking Our Two-Party System," "In Search of Self-Governance," and "The People’s Money: How Voters Will Balance the Budget and Eliminate the Federal Debt." Read more reports from Scott Rasmussen — Click Here Now.