We all know that AI has revolutionized the tech industry.
But do we realize how much progress has it made in the healthcare field?
The notion that AI can potentially help cure drug addiction or speed up recovery is still unsettling to many.
While AI might not have solved the issues related to drug addiction or substance abuse, it has definitely helped in aiding recovery and tracking recovery progress.
It has even made it possible for patients to personalize their whole recovery journey!
Let us take a look at some of the ways AI has helped contribute to drug addiction recovery.
Table of Contents
Helps In Identifying The Best Treatment Options
Drug addiction is a highly individual problem – meaning that it affects each person differently. While one person may not exhibit serious withdrawal symptoms and might be able to get on with their daily routine, the other might find it impossible to do simple chores.
In order to offer the right kind of treatment to a recovering addict, it is important to know the medical history, family background, age and other factors which play a role.
AI can quickly and quite assess these factors and scrutinize them to deduce the best possible treatment options for a drug addict patient. AI algorithms are accurate and can take into account the smallest factor to make an accurate diagnosis.
Emergency Hotlines
AI chatbots have definitely revolutionized the online healthcare industry – and this includes emergency hotlines as well.
People who are undergoing the side effects of drugs or need emergency assistance can take the help of emergency hotlines.
The AI voice assistants can help you find the nearest or a highly-rated alcohol treatment center where you can get help and even list out the available services to you.
There are even advanced systems so that priority can be given to people who are at the highest risk of substance abuse or in need of emergency assistance.
Tracking Recovery Progress
Recovering from drug addiction is an extremely difficult process – something which requires consistency and commitment.
AI can help you track patient recovery in a clinical setting and in a personalized manner as well. There are several apps created solely for drug recovery patients and these are AI-powered.
They have features allowing patients to create a medication schedule, set recovery goals, keep a check on addiction habit triggers, and track the amount of money saved besides tracking the overall recovery progress.
Patients can also stay in touch with professional and licensed recovery support specialists online.
Finding Other Drug Addicts
In drug addiction, knowing another person who is going through the same struggles is a huge motivating factor for recovery.
Today there are many AI apps that help people connect with others going through the same problems. The apps can automatically analyze everyone within the community to find people with similar medical histories, recovery progress, etc.
This feature has definitely changed the recovery game, especially for people who find it hard to go through recovery on their own.
Medical Documentation of Patients
Entering data and information manually is a time-consuming procedure and there are high chances for mistakes, wrong entries or missing data.
Fortunately, AI can be used in rehab and recovery centers to maintain medical records of the patients, the medicines they are taking, and the side effects they are facing as well.
These documentation tools can be combined with other tools like CDS tools which makes it possible to go through large amounts of data at once and make medical decisions for the patient.
Discovering New Medicines for Drug Addiction
Medical firms and companies can use AI to discover new drugs which are better suited to help a person suffering from drug addiction.
The algorithm uses data analysis and pre-recorded patient history to find effective drugs. This will reduce the money, time and manpower required for traditional drug discovery procedures.
Conclusion
There are possibilities for new AI developments in the future that can support drug addiction recovery to the highest level.
It is important to educate patients and addicts on how they can use this technology to help themselves in the safest way possible.
Also Read – Drug Crime 101: Understanding the Charges You Face
