The technology revolution could transform healthcare – but
America’s caregiving crisis requires us to understand the human beings
providing the care.
By Alex Moran, CEO of Roost
Washington is betting heavily on artificial intelligence.
The technology is already reshaping medicine, from analyzing
medical data to supporting clinicians and accelerating research. Policymakers
are increasingly asking how AI can help solve some of America’s biggest
healthcare challenges.
But there is a question we should not overlook:
Who will care for us?
America’s ageing population is creating enormous demand for
caregivers, while families and care organizations are struggling to find and
retain people willing and able to provide high-quality care.
And the problem isn’t simply having enough workers.
It is having the right workers.
I learned that lesson from my grandfather.
He was 91 and largely bedbound in a residential care home.
Several caregivers looked after him, but one stood out. His name was Scott.
One day I walked into my grandfather’s room and found him
laughing and beaming while talking with Scott.
Scott wasn’t performing some extraordinary medical
procedure. He was doing something much simpler: he was connecting with my
grandfather as a person.
That moment changed how I thought about care.
We have become very good at checking whether someone is
qualified to provide care. We can examine training, employment history,
references and background checks.
But how good are we at answering a different question?
Will this person actually be good at caring for another
human being?
Can they communicate? Are they patient? Can they build
trust? Do they recognize subtle changes in someone’s condition? Can they remain
emotionally resilient when the work becomes difficult?
Those qualities can be harder to measure than
qualifications.
They may also be among the most important.
This is where I believe the conversation about artificial
intelligence becomes particularly interesting.
The answer isn’t to build an algorithm that decides who is
compassionate enough to become a caregiver. Nor should technology replace the
judgement of experienced care professionals.
But it could help us make better-informed decisions.
Washington has already recognized the potential. The U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services has launched a $2 million competition
seeking AI solutions that could support America’s caregivers.
That is an encouraging development. But we need to be
careful about what we ask AI to do.
The most valuable role for AI in caregiving may not be replacing
people, but helping us understand people better.
Imagine having better information about a prospective
caregiver’s communication style, emotional resilience or ability to build
interpersonal trust, alongside, rather than instead of, professional judgement.
For a family choosing someone to care for a loved one, those
qualities matter.
They are asking:
Will this person treat my mother with dignity?
Will they notice when my father isn’t himself?
Will they have the patience to sit and listen?
Will my loved one feel safe with them?
Those questions don’t appear on a standard résumé.
Perhaps they should.
America’s healthcare system will undoubtedly become more
technologically sophisticated. That is a good thing.
But the goal should not be to make healthcare less human.
It should be to use technology to help us understand,
support and empower the humans who make exceptional care possible.
The future of healthcare may be powered by AI.
But it still has to be human.
Alex Moran is the founder and CEO of Roost, a caregiving
company focused on helping families and care organizations identify and support
trusted caregivers. His work was inspired by his grandfather’s experience in
residential care and his belief that technology should strengthen, rather than
replace, human judgement and connection in healthcare.
