Google has introduced MedLM, a family of generative AI models specifically designed for the healthcare industry. These models can assist healthcare workers in completing their tasks and are available to Google Cloud customers in the U.S. The MedLM family includes a larger model for complex tasks and a smaller, fine-tunable model for scaling across tasks. Google acknowledges that the most effective model for a given task may vary depending on the use case. Early users of MedLM include HCA Healthcare and BenchSci, who have utilized the models to draft patient notes and identify biomarkers, respectively. Google, Microsoft, and Amazon are all competing to dominate the healthcare AI market. However, there are concerns about the accuracy and potential risks of using generative AI models in healthcare. Previous studies have shown that these models can provide inaccurate responses to healthcare-related questions. The World Health Organization has warned about the risks of using generative AI in healthcare, including the potential for generating harmful wrong answers and leaking sensitive health data. Google claims to be cautious in releasing generative AI healthcare tools and emphasizes the importance of safe and responsible use of the technology.
