During HLTH 2023, Google introduced new generative AI-powered features to its Vertex AI platform. These features are designed for health and life sciences companies to search patient data, including clinical sources such as FHIR data and clinical notes. This can be integrated with Google’s medical large language model, Med-PaLM 2.
Key points:
- Vertex AI: A search engine that lets organizations create their own generative AI-enabled search engines tailored for their customers. Med-PaLM, on the other hand, is a generative AI technology that uses Google’s LLMs to provide answers to medical queries.
- Combining Vertex AI and Med-PaLM 2: This combination allows healthcare providers to get answers related to a patient’s medical records and also general medical questions.
- Features: Vertex AI’s new capabilities include setting up conversational search applications and question-answering functionalities. It also supports HIPAA compliance and integrates with Google Cloud’s Healthcare API, Healthcare Data Engine, and Google Health’s pilot product, Care Studio.
- Benefits: Google suggests that this offering will help tackle the increasing workforce shortage in the healthcare sector, reduce administrative tasks, alleviate physician burnout, and enable users to access accurate clinical data for better decision-making.
- Statement from Google: Burak Gokturk, VP and general manager of Cloud AI and industry solutions for Google Cloud, emphasized the potential of these new capabilities in enhancing efficiencies, supporting clinical decisions, and improving the quality of care provided to patients.
- Med-PaLM 2 Performance: Earlier tests on Med-PaLM 2 showed it performed at an “expert” level with over 85% accuracy on U.S. Medical Licensing Examination-style questions. A study also revealed that Med-PaLM provided answers that were in line with the scientific consensus for over 92% of questions, closely matching clinician-generated answers.