AI and Total Pain: Navigating Artificial Intelligence in Palliative Care Pain Management
A new research analysis published in the Journal of Palliative Medicine examines the potential role of artificial intelligence (AI) in palliative pain management and the challenges it may pose. As AI tools expand across health care, the article explores how applications such as pain prediction, clinical decision support, and patient education could improve aspects of pain management.
The analysis highlights a key tension between AI’s reliance on measurable data and the concept of “total pain,” a core principle in palliative care that recognizes pain as a multidimensional experience shaped by physical, emotional, social, and spiritual factors. While algorithms can analyze clinical indicators and generate recommendations, they cannot fully understand the lived experience of suffering.
The author also outlines risks, including biased training data and the potential to oversimplify complex patient experiences. Ultimately, the article calls on palliative clinicians to help guide AI development and implementation so that new technologies support ,rather than undermine, holistic palliative care.