Valerio: AI cannot replace empathy, cultural sensitivity in healthcare

MCALLEN, Texas – Introducing artificial intelligence into the healthcare arena must not be at the expense of empathy, cultural sensitivity, and human interaction, says Jayson T. Valerio, regional healthcare liaison at South Texas College.

Valerio attended the recent “Smart Cities, Smarter Economy – The Future of Automation in the Rio Grande Valley” forum co-hosted by the Rio Grande Guardian and STC. It was held at STC’s Pecan Campus in McAllen and won rave reviews.

“As we embrace AI, especially in the field of healthcare, it is essential to remember that human touch remains irreplaceable,” Valerio told the Guardian, after the forum had concluded. “Compassion, caring, and cultural competence are core values that must guide in the development and application of AI.”

Valerio said that while AI can significantly enhance efficiency and accuracy, “it cannot replicate the emotional intelligence, empathy, and deep understanding that human professionals bring, especially in fields like healthcare, education, and customer service.”

Valerio spoke at the forum during the Q&A section. He said the American Association Colleges of Nursing and the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing have already recommended integrating AI skills into STC’s curriculum for nursing.

“Just like what happened with COVID 19, they have given us three years to incorporate tele-health healthcare into our curriculum. So, I can foresee that, three to four years from now, our accrediting body, the Board of Nursing, will mandate us to integrate AI skills across the board in our healthcare curriculum,” Valerio said.

Valerio posed this question to the panel: “How can automation not replace but enhance cultural sensitivity, caring and empathy in serving our patient?”

He said so much of the discussion surrounding AI focuses on digitization. But what about the human interaction?  He said he liked the comment of panelist Dr. Jesus Campos, interim vice president of information services, planning, performance, and strategic initiatives at STC, when he said: “Critical thinking is still very important.”

During the panel discussion it was pointed out that an unnamed local Valley hospital system was recently hacked into. Valerio said: “Guess what? A supervisor called me and texted me. He said, Jay, you need to teach your students the basics of using paper because they (the hospital system in question) didn’t have any electronic documentation for about two to three weeks.”

Andy Garcia, president of Allied Consulting Group Texas, was one of the panelists. He said AI can help in the healthcare arena.

“Without getting controversial here, one of the biggest challenges that hospitals face is readmission. So, getting it right the first time and using AI to properly diagnose certain situations, can help a lot,” Garcia said. “The human mind can only evaluate a specific amount of data at one time. There’s a specific amount of patterns that a human mind can process, whereas a machine can process millions and millions of data points.”

Garcia added: “I think we underestimate how much information is stored in those hospitals, people going in there, and blood types and history and health problems and all that. So, it’s definitely important to empower the leadership there at the hospitals (with AI applications).”

Dr. Lyudmyla Dickinson was another panelist at the forum. “AI will be implemented in all programs, sooner or later,” Dickinson said, adding that it is important AI is not used to “spread biases.”

In answer to Valerio’s question, Campos said AI will be able to help a physician find the right diagnosis for a patient. “But it’s the ethical piece that really falls on the human person, because that’s where the empathetic skills and the ethical thinking… AI is not going to take over that.”

Editor’s Note: At the conclusion of the forum, the Guardian secured an exclusive interview with Jayson T. Valerio. Here is a video recording:

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