The United States is far from alone in the public-private struggle to quickly and safely adopt AI-enabling innovations in healthcare. Our close economic (and military) allies in the United Kingdom are among those scrambling to train their own AI healthcare breeders. What can we learn from their thinking?
A lot, judging by a paper published June 26 by the Health Foundation, an independent nonprofit focused on continuously improving health care in the United Kingdom. The paper is largely aimed at putting pressure on Britain’s National Health Service, the second-largest single-payer health system in the world (after Brazil’s).
However, it is an open document, offering easily digestible food for thought for all healthcare AI stakeholders who are striving to maximize the benefits of healthcare AI while minimizing its risks.
“The enormous pressures facing the NHS from growing demand (for health services) and significant workforce shortages make the development of a strategy all the more urgent,” writes the Health Foundation in its introductory section. “A strategy is particularly needed to ensure that the benefits of AI can be realized at scale across the whole of the NHS rather than just in a few pockets of excellence. »
The document presents six priorities to guide policy makers and health care leaders in formulating and promoting the said strategy.
1. The use of AI must be shaped by the public, patients and healthcare workers to ensure the technology works for them.
An AI strategy in healthcare “should be based on a thorough understanding of what Britons think about AI-enabled healthcare technologies,” the authors write. “It should ensure that effective mechanisms are in place to engage patients, the public and NHS staff on relevant topics as they arise to inform high-level decision-making.” More:
“We also need to involve patients and staff in the co-design of AI solutions if we are to harness their potential in a way that works for everyone. »
2. The NHS must focus the development and deployment of AI in the right areas.
An AI strategy in healthcare “should support local innovation and experimentation while setting out a small number of high-level priorities where AI can help address the key challenges facing the NHS (administrative and operational as well as clinical). It should also support the demonstration, testing and dissemination of these tools.
“As part of this, a strategy will need to maintain effective horizon scanning functions and provide opportunities and mechanisms for NHS staff and provider organisations to signal where AI could be most useful.”
3. The NHS needs data and digital infrastructure that will enable it to capitalise on the potential of AI.
An AI strategy in healthcare “should ensure that the NHS’s digital infrastructure is fit for purpose and set out how processes can be standardized and improved to enable efficient access to high-quality data for the development of AI systems”.
“This access should be based on a proportionate approach to data security and privacy that effectively balances risks and opportunities. »
4. The use of AI in the NHS must be supported by high-quality testing and evaluation.
The success of AI in practice depends on the technology’s performance in real-world healthcare environments. In this context, any national strategy “must consider how to create and support more opportunities to test AI technologies in real-world settings.”
“A healthcare AI strategy must support the further development of appropriate AI evaluation frameworks and build capacity to evaluate AI as it is developed and implemented within the NHS.”
5. The NHS needs a clear and consistent regulatory regime for AI.
“Clinicians are particularly concerned about where clinical responsibility lies when algorithms are used in clinical decision-making,” the Health Foundation points out, “so providing regulatory clarity here will be essential.”
“A healthcare AI strategy must prioritise coordination across sector regulators, bringing together all relevant bodies under an agreed approach that addresses gaps and overlaps.”
6. Health workers must have adequate skills and capabilities to leverage AI.
“Ultimately, there needs to be a shared vision of how professions and occupations, and new roles, should evolve with the increased use of AI,” the authors write. “And NHS staff themselves should play a central role in developing this vision, in partnership with colleagues, employers, trade unions, professional and representative bodies, patients and the public.”
“An AI strategy in healthcare must outline concrete plans to equip the current and future workforce with the skills needed to use AI, develop career pathways that enable healthcare workers to specialize in AI and empower staff to shape the evolution of their roles.”
