AI: A Potential Solution to the Opioid Epidemic
TABLE OF CONTENTS
The opioid epidemic has been a persistent and complex issue in the United States for decades. However, recent advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) may provide a much-needed breakthrough in diagnosing, treating, and preventing opioid addiction.
AI is moving healthcare forward at lightening speed. Not only is it aiding drug discovery and development, but revolutionizing medical imaging analysis (check out this story on heart disease), remote patient monitoring, AI assisted robotic surgery, and much more.
AI in Diagnosis
Researchers at the University of Florida are developing an AI tool that predicts patients at high risk for opioid use disorder and overdose. The tool uses data from patients' electronic medical records to guide clinicians in safely prescribing opioid medications. This project is supported by a five-year, $3.2 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and aims to reduce the rise in opioid overdose and opioid use disorder in the United States
AI in Treatment
AI is also being used to design drugs that can treat opioid addiction. Researchers are turning to AI to create and optimize potential new drugs that can block kappa opioid receptors, which have been shown to reduce the need to use drugs during withdrawal periods in animal models.
By using AI to optimize the drug discovery process, researchers can potentially reduce the time and costs associated with traditional drug discovery methods
AI in Prevention
AI-based models can help predict opioid overdose risks by analyzing comprehensive Electronic Health Records (EHR) data, including patient demographics, diagnoses, prescriptions, procedures, history, and clinical notes
Additionally, AI algorithms can predict opioid death rates more accurately than traditional methods, such as prior rates in communities and socio-economic measures
Public health officials and those seeking to address the opioid epidemic can deploy AI models to improve their existing community assessments and better understand the factors contributing to the crisis
AI has the potential to revolutionize the way we diagnose, treat, and prevent opioid addiction. By leveraging AI tools and models, researchers and clinicians can better identify high-risk patients, develop more effective treatments, and implement targeted prevention strategies to combat the opioid epidemic.
