Generative AI as the New Frontier in Healthcare

Healthcare professionals play an essential role in patient care, and ensuring the wellbeing of these professionals is essential to sustain a strong workforce. Yet, nurses face many challenges including employment shortages and heavy workloads, which could lead to higher error rates in clinical practice. At the same time, the rapid integration of AI and digital health technologies offers promising opportunities to enhance care quality and boost productivity, while also introducing new concerns such as data security and ethical risks. This chapter invites readers to explore the evolution of healthcare systems, starting from traditional, paper-based models to computerized and digital systems, and now toward AI-driven agentic health systems. It highlights the tools and practices for each era. along with the key opportunities and challenges in each stage, providing insightful perspectives on how AI technology is reshaping the future of healthcare. This chapter also illustrates some real-world examples highlighting the transformation of AI in nursing practice, by supporting clinical decision-making, enhancing patient monitoring, and ultimately improving the overall quality of healthcare delivery.