THE FUTURE OF PREVENTIVE HEALTHCARE: CAN AI MAKE EARLY DISEASE DETECTION ACCESSIBLE AND AFFORDABLE IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

However, preventive medicine requires early identification of disease, which remains a challenge for many low- and middle-income countries due to a shortage of trained health workers, insufficient distribution of diagnostic equipment, high out-of-pocket costs, and ineffective health information systems. One possible method of extending diagnostic services could be the application of artificial intelligence to medical image interpretation, risk prediction, laboratory decision support, and screening tests. The current paper explores the possibility of using AI to achieve early detection of diseases in developing countries with regard to conditions for doing business and implementing health system interventions.The research design of the paper is a qualitative secondary analysis of peer-reviewed literature and institutional sources. The focus is on the application of AI to medical image interpretation, diabetic retinopathy screening, tuberculosis and lung radiography, laboratory medicine,risk prediction and point of care technologies. From the literature, it appears that AI can help overcome some of the barriers through its ability to help health workers, increase the capacity of diagnostic services, and facilitate early referral.