JAMA Network reported: Too many effective public health–oriented interventions reach less than half of the patients who are likely to benefit from them. Pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV prevention, antiviral treatment of hepatitis C, colonoscopy after positive stool colorectal cancer screening result, and blood pressure control all fall into this category. Each is a breakthrough with a failure to follow through.1
Cervical cancer is a quintessential example. Because of the near-perfect efficacy of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines and greater than 90% early-stage survival rate, eliminating cervical cancer is feasible. Australia is on track to eliminate cervical cancer by 2035. Yet cervical cancer incidence is rising among US women aged 30 to 44 years,2 and more than a third of US adolescents are not up to date with HPV vaccines.3
Bridging the stubborn gap between what we know and what we do in public health and health care has typically required concerted campaigns and small armies of dedicated people for identification, engagement, and treatment. The world finally eradicated smallpox not when the first vaccine emerged in the 1790s, but 2 centuries later when it finally paired vaccines with highly coordinated monitoring and containment strategies.
Could generative artificial intelligence (AI) help with radically compressing the time frame from breakthrough to follow-through? Artificial intelligence offers the ability to automate case finding, augment outreach, and assist with patient navigation. If directed to support longitudinal human relationships, AI might meaningfully benefit the public’s health.
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