From Code to Bedside: Implementing Artificial Intelligence Using Quality Improvement Methods

Despite increasing interest in how artificial intelligence (AI) can augment and improve healthcare delivery, the development of new AI models continues to outpace adoption in existing healthcare processes. Integration is difficult because current approaches separate the development of AI models from the complex healthcare environments in which they are intended to function, resulting in models developed without a clear and compelling use case and not tested or scalable in a clinical setting. We propose that current approaches and traditional research methods do not support successful AI implementation in healthcare and outline a repeatable mixed-methods approach, along with several examples, that facilitates uptake of AI technologies into human-driven healthcare processes. Unlike traditional research, these methods do not seek to control for variation, but rather understand it to learn how a technology will function in practice coupled with user-centered design techniques. This approach, leveraging design thinking and quality improvement methods, aims to increase the adoption of AI in healthcare and prompt further study to understand which methods are most successful for AI implementations.