Nationwide survey identifies safety of patients as top concern

AI in healthcare

A nationwide survey released today of the health sector including government, industry, consumers and IT organisations has identified key recommendations for how Australia should prepare in order to embrace artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare.

Ensuring patients receive safe and ethical care from AI-healthcare services was the top concern.

Analysis of survey results informed Australia’s first AI-Healthcare Roadmap with 24 recommendations across eight priority areas, covering critical issues such as safety, quality and ethics, industry development and consumer needs.

The Roadmap identifies current gaps in Australia’s capability to translate AI into effective and safe clinical services and provides guidance on key issues such as workforce, industry capability, implementation, regulation, and cybersecurity. It also acknowledges the extensive work already undertaken nationally and internationally and builds on this work.

The survey was conducted by the Australian Alliance for Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare (AAAiH), a collaboration of almost 100 member organisations spanning researchers, industry and government bodies. AAAiH was founded by Professor Enrico Coiera from the Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Macquarie University, in response to a gap in strategic guidance on AI in healthcare.

Professor Coiera says, these recommendations offer the government a path toward achieving a fully funded national plan by 2025 that will create an AI-enabled Australian healthcare system capable of delivering personalised healthcare, safely and ethically. The plan also envisages a vibrant AI industry sector that creates jobs and exports to the world, working side by side with an AI-aware workforce and AI-savvy consumers.

“The AI-Healthcare Roadmap shows the path that Australia should take to embrace the opportunities AI brings.”

Whilst the highest priority was for healthcare AI to be safe and ethical, privacy and data security were also major concerns. Respondents also identified the need for genuine whole-of-nation leadership in the healthcare AI space as well as robust governance of the sector. Gaps in the workforce capability to build and use healthcare AI were clearly identified as was the need for consumers to be fully engaged in shaping the healthcare AI agenda. Respondents also rated the gaps in Australia’s capability to adopt AI into practice and the need to enhance local industry capability as issues needing clear attention.

Professor Coiera is available for interview. Please contact chrissy.clay@mq.edu.au to arrange.

Download a copy of the AI-Healthcare Roadmap here.

CENTRES RELATED TO THIS NEWS

Centre for Health Informatics

Australian Alliance for Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT

Chrissy Clay, Media and Research Outreach Coordinator

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