RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Artificial intelligence (AI), which combines computer science with extensive datasets, seeks to mimic human-like intelligence. Subsets of AI are being applied in almost all fields of medicine and surgery. AIM: This review focuses on the applications of AI in healthcare settings in developing countries, designed to underscore its significance by comprehensively outlining the advancements made thus far, the shortcomings encountered in AI applications, the present status of AI integration, persistent challenges, and innovative strategies to surmount them. METHODOLOGY: Articles from PubMed, Google Scholar, and Cochrane were searched from 2000 to 2023 with keywords including AI and healthcare, focusing on multiple medical specialties. RESULTS: The increasing role of AI in diagnosis, prognosis prediction, and patient management, as well as hospital management and community healthcare, has made the overall healthcare system more efficient, especially in the high patient load setups and resource-limited areas of developing countries where patient care is often compromised. However, challenges, including low adoption rates and the absence of standardized guidelines, high installation and maintenance costs of equipment, poor transportation and connectivvity issues hinder AI's full use in healthcare. CONCLUSION: Despite these challenges, AI holds a promising future in healthcare. Adequate knowledge and expertise of healthcare professionals for the use of AI technology in healthcare is imperative in developing nations.