How AI Is Already Making Healthcare Better for Patients -- and Doctors
Li Hualiang recently needed dental implants in Shenzhen, a common procedure around the world. But the 57-year-old man also suffered from heart problems, which complicated things. To get his dental implants, he needed the green light from a cardiologist -- and as many people know, coordinating things like this can be complex and take time.
Fortunately for Li, AI was working behind-the-scenes to make this process much simpler. Thanks to an AI-powered triage system, Li was quickly connected to the right cardiologist, who had instant access to Li’s entire medical history. The cardiologist could even consult an AI assistant about the precautions around dental procedures as he finalizes his clinical recommendations. This sped up the whole process: from triage to treatment, the entire patient journey was streamlined and efficient.
Li's story isn't unique—it's becoming the new normal as artificial intelligence is revolutionizing healthcare delivery.
The Healthcare Challenge We All Face
If you've ever spent hours in a hospital waiting room, you’d understand the frustration. Healthcare systems globally are stretched thin, and the numbers tell a sobering story. According to the World Health Organization's 2025 statistics, we're facing a projected shortage of over 11 million healthcare workers by 2030. Even more concerning, up to 8.4 million deaths each year in low- and middle-income countries are attributed to poor-quality care.
The traditional approach—hiring more staff and building more facilities—simply can't keep pace with growing demand. But here's where technology can be a game-changer.
Three Ways AI Is Already Making Healthcare Better
1. Streamlining Patient Navigation
That AI triage system that helped Li represents an important step forward in how patients navigate healthcare. Instead of lengthy coordination between departments, intelligent systems can help:
- Analyze symptoms and medical history to guide care decisions
- Connect patients with appropriate specialists more efficiently
- Support physicians with relevant patient information
- Provide clinical decision support when needed
The result? Patients like Li experience more coordinated care, while doctors have better information to support their clinical decisions. These systems work best as assistants to healthcare professionals, helping to organize and prioritize rather than replace human judgment.
2. Making Health Checkups Personal and Clear
Health checkups have long followed a one-size-fits-all approach—some people might pay for irrelevant tests while others miss crucial screenings. At a hospital in Shenzhen, AI is changing that dynamic. The hospital's intelligent health checkup service, powered by dual AI large models including DeepSeek and Tencent's Hunyuan, analyzes each person's age, medical history, lifestyle, and work environment to recommend precisely the right tests.
"A young worker who frequently works late nights might need priority cardiovascular risk screening, while someone with a family history of disease gets targeted early detection tests," explains Feng Cheng, Director of Outpatient and Health Management at Shenzhen Third People's Hospital.
The innovation extends to results interpretation. When reports come back filled with complex medical terminology, AI technology "translates" everything into plain language with practical advice: "Elevated cholesterol may be related to frequent fried food consumption" or "Neck problems suggest reducing phone screen time." For cases requiring follow-ups, the AI agent directly connects patients with appropriate specialists, transforming checkups from routine procedures into personalized health management.
3. Bringing Precision to Critical Moments
In intensive care units, every decision can mean the difference between life and death. Consider ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation), a life support system that temporarily takes over heart and lung function when these organs are too weak to work properly. For heart transplant patients experiencing complications, deciding when to safely remove ECMO requires complex assessment from ICU doctors, cardiac specialists, and nurses.
AI is now helping in these critical moments by creating "digital twins"—real-time, virtual versions of patients that analyze streams of data including heart rate, breathing patterns, blood pressure, and oxygen levels.
"We have developed an ICU care-centric model that emulates the cognitive processes of an ICU physician. This helps doctors better understand how the patient's body is responding to treatment and make more informed decisions, faster," says Liu Yan, product manager for the Qiyuan critical care model developed by Tencent and Mindray Medical.
Healthcare That Works for Everyone
These applications are powered by Tencent Healthcare's medical AI models, built on our proprietary Hunyuan foundation model and trained on vast medical literature and real-world case studies. Our AI agents support everything from cancer screening to drug discovery and rural doctor training.
As these technologies demonstrate clear benefits, trust becomes essential. We believe innovation must work hand in hand with robust safeguards for patient privacy, fairness, and transparency. AI is designed to assist, not replace, healthcare professionals—providing doctors with better information while giving patients greater control over their health.
"AI empowers hospital management and healthcare professionals to enhance administrative and clinical efficiency while letting patients take greater control of their own health,” according to President of Tencent Healthcare Dr. Alex Ng.
The future of healthcare combines human expertise with artificial intelligence to create something better than either could achieve alone. By relieving pressure on overworked systems and making quality care more accessible, AI helps us move toward a world where geography, wait times, and resource constraints don't determine health outcomes.
For patients like Li Hualiang, this future is already here. The path to better health is becoming clearer, faster, and more personalized than ever before—ensuring everyone, everywhere, has access to the care they need when they need it most.
