AI in Domestic Medicine: Current Use and Future Prospects

How is artificial intelligence (AI) used in domestic medicine today?

In recent years, the medical field has shifted from skepticism to widespread acceptance of AI as a practical tool. Clinicians in Canada and the United States increasingly view AI as a valuable technology that should be integrated into routine care, with attitudes evolving quickly as success stories accumulate.

Two years ago AI in medicine looked like a miracle with unclear paths for real use. Today, roughly 36% of doctors report familiarity with AI, and about 89% believe clinicians should help shape AI development to expand its role. The momentum reflects a broader push to harness AI for safer, faster, and more accurate patient care.

Early experiments in AI-assisted domestic medicine began around 2019. Today, the sector is actively implementing medical solutions powered by AI across healthcare systems. In Canada and the United States, digital health is accelerating, with AI guiding the analysis of electronic health records, imaging studies, clinical decision support, and diagnostic processes.

The conditions for piloting and scaling AI-based services have matured. Collaboration with clinicians and healthcare organizers is central to building and refining products that integrate medical expertise and AI insights.

— Can you explain Sber’s high-tech healthcare solutions and which are in highest demand?

The digital medical tools from Sber and its partners fall into two main categories: professional clinician-focused solutions and patient-facing tools. All digital offerings rely on AI models to deliver value.

AI-powered services support diagnostics, automatic transcription of medical notes through voice input, and interpretation of medical images such as CT scans, X-rays, and mammography. For example, Voice2Med, developed in partnership with the MDG group, converts physician speech into text so clinicians can describe studies without distraction. In Moscow alone, more than 210,000 radiology protocols have been created using speech recognition. AI dictionaries cover nine specialties, with voice input deployed across 69 regions. The response from older physicians has been particularly positive, and the expectation is that voice control will become the standard interface, reducing keyboard use altogether.

One standout offering is the TOP-3 digital medical assistant. This AI tool suggests three plausible preliminary diagnoses based on patient symptoms, while the final decision about testing and treatment remains with the clinician. Developed through a collaboration among the Moscow government, Sber AI Lab, and SberMedII, it has supported preliminary diagnoses in all adult clinics in the capital since 2020, helping doctors with over 12 million assessments to date.

Further work with the Moscow government led to the creation of an AI-powered digital assistant trained on electronic medical records to provide an independent second opinion for a set of common conditions that require clinical observation. The doctor maintains final authority, but the system offers an additional layer of support to reduce diagnostic uncertainty. The goal is to expand the diagnostic options so that AI-assisted tools cover a large majority of primary outpatient visits. Initial pilots are already active in regional centers across the country.

Telemedicine is another major driver of digital health deployment. The service, offered by SberZdorovye, enables online consultations with on-call clinicians within minutes and practical guidance for urgent situations. In Russia, SberZdorovye has become a leader in remote monitoring for chronic non-communicable diseases, including arterial hypertension and diabetes, with monitoring programs run by multiple medical organizations in more than 60 regions. Robotic data collection and smart devices support this work.

The Smart Monitoring service, under the SberHealth umbrella, combines a blood pressure monitor with remote cardiologist oversight. Readings are transmitted to doctors who can intervene immediately if numbers drift from normal, adjust treatment, or recommend urgent care. Results so far show significant impact: blood pressure control improves for the majority of patients within 30 days, ambulance calls and hospitalizations decline substantially, and mortality among monitored patients drops. Over 285,000 people have participated in remote monitoring over 3.5 years, contributing to national health initiatives aimed at reducing deaths from circulatory diseases.

Regular blood pressure checks and adherence to medical advice can improve outcomes and save lives. The Smart Health Camera introduces an online evaluation layer by enabling patients to share photos or videos of respiratory, throat, nasal, ear, and skin conditions with doctors via the SberHealth app. This approach helps patients receive timely guidance without leaving home and reduces clinic crowding and viral transmission in healthcare facilities.

A separate AI-enabled feature, Pill Box within the SBER EAPTEKA app, reminds patients when it is time to take medications by scanning pill packaging. If supplies run low, a built-in reminder prompts ordering a new supply through the app’s First Aid Kit feature. Several AI healthcare solutions are currently under development to further improve adherence and outcomes.

The launch of a unified digital health space within the app brings all health-related services together. The Health Room can be accessed via SberBank Online or through Sber smart devices with the Salyut virtual assistant. It aspires to be a comprehensive human-like AI health assistant capable of handling health needs across channels and formats, including audio and text. Within Health Room, users can book appointments and obtain examinations, and the AI-driven Symptom Analysis service can identify up to three relevant specialists based on user-reported symptoms, helping to secure an appointment quickly. The offering also includes educational content, meditation resources, and health-oriented podcasts. Tens of thousands of users already rely on this service.

Looking ahead, AI in medicine is seen as a helper for clinicians rather than a replacement. Today, AI can propose diagnostic options, but the clinician retains final decision-making authority. A broader trend is to empower individuals to monitor their well-being with wearable and smart devices that track metrics such as heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen levels, and activity. The overarching aim is a multi-channel AI assistant that adapts to doctors and learns preferences to support more personalized care. While this represents a new frontier for medicine, the trajectory points toward a digitally driven clinical landscape that augments human judgment, not replaces it.

As AI expands in medical practice, new use cases are likely to emerge. Beyond reactive diagnosis, proactive health management could see AI recommending health-promoting actions, guiding diagnostics, and informing consultations based on streamed data. The shift from episodic care to continuous health insight has the potential to improve outcomes, extend healthy lifespans, and reduce the burden on healthcare systems in North America and beyond.