Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly present in medicine. Digital algorithms can support treatment through, among other things, the analysis of radiology results and diagnostic imaging. However, this requires large databases. A network of digital medicine centres will help fully harness this potential.
– Digital medicine centres are consortia of several organisations, for example a hospital, a biobank and a university. They were established to carry out a project under the Medical Research Agency, which involves collecting patients' consent to process their data and genetic data for research and development purposes, creating a database, a base for research and development processes, and using that base by researchers and scientists in Poland – Ligia Kornowska, managing director of the Polish Federation of Hospitals and leader of the AI in Health Coalition, told the Newseria Biznes news agency.
Last year, the Medical Research Agency held a competition for the creation and development of Regional Digital Medicine Centres (RCMC). In total, more than £100 million will go to 18 units across the country to digitise clinical trials, which will enable maximum use of health data. This money is earmarked for building infrastructure that enables access to large amounts of reliable data while maintaining control over the sources that generate it. The ABM initiative also aims to create the staffing and systemic foundation for building the RCMC network.
– At the moment we are essentially starting the project and continuing to collect patients' consent – says Ligia Kornowska. – The centres will make it possible to collect medical data not only from medical records, but also genetic data derived from patients' tissues. This means we will be able to create a broad patient database that will contain various data about them. Today data is the foundation for the development of medicine, the foundation for the development of every new technology in medicine.
As ABM emphasised when announcing the competition results, this is a turning point in the discussion about data security and the proper use of information in healthcare. The creation of the RCMC is intended to contribute not only to improving the effectiveness of patient treatment and their access to innovative therapies, but also to the development of IT solutions in the field of digital medicine that enable the analysis of medical data or solutions that make doctors' work easier. IDC data cited by agencies indicate that by 2025 the rate of data generation growth in the healthcare sector will be higher than in any other industry sector.
– Thanks to having such data, we will be able to develop, among other things, artificial intelligence algorithms, but also algorithms for predictive analytics. We will be able to support personalised medicine – lists the expert from the Polish Federation of Hospitals.
Artificial intelligence in diagnostics
The "Opening Report. Digital innovation as a lifeline for health", authored by, among others, the Polish Federation of Hospitals and the AI in Health Coalition, points to eight opportunities that digital technologies represent for the sector. The first is improving the quality of diagnosis and treatment in healthcare.
AI, with its ability to process enormous amounts of data and discover patterns that may escape human attention, supports medics in faster and more accurate detection of diseases, analysing large volumes of medical data and creating personalised treatment plans.
Among the other opportunities listed in the report are: implementing new forms of diagnostics and treatment directed straight to the patient (digital therapeutic applications), health profiling, i.e. creating an effective predictive mechanism powered by patient data that would direct targeted pro-health communication to them, opening access to medical data for R&D purposes, integrating data from wearables to monitor patients, and increasing cybersecurity in health.
– Among medical specialities, the vast majority of such solutions are applied to support diagnostic imaging, that is in radiology. However, we are seeing growing popularity of AI solutions that support hospital administrative and management processes, such as algorithms to support patient registration or scheduling appointments – says Ligia Kornowska.
Data cited by the report's authors indicate that about one fifth of healthcare organisations worldwide have already adopted AI models for their healthcare solutions, and the implementation of artificial intelligence in healthcare has reduced the time doctors devote to administrative tasks by about 20 per cent. In Poland, AI algorithms are used by around 7 per cent of hospitals, most of them in radiology. Global studies indicate that this cuts the waiting time for radiological analysis of chest X-rays several-fold, and also reduces the risk of false-negative results.
There is a shortage of staff to work with AI
One of the challenges associated with implementing artificial intelligence and other technologies in healthcare is preparing staff to work with such tools. According to the expert, there is a group of people who are interested in this topic and want to use new technologies, but awareness is still too low.
– We should make every effort to enable training and the sharing of materials for both medical and non-medical staff working in hospitals. These materials and training would increase staff knowledge about what artificial intelligence is, what it is not, what digital technologies we can use in medicine and how not to use them, so that it is effective for the patient and safe – explains the managing director of the Polish Federation of Hospitals.
Another challenge is the lack of stable public funding for medical services using artificial intelligence algorithms.
– Such AI algorithms are being created in Polish healthcare, they are even sometimes used in pilot form, but there is no systemic solution so that, for example, every examination would be assessed, if of course it is cost-effective, by artificial intelligence algorithms – says Ligia Kornowska. – As for other digital innovations, of course one of the main blockers is still the preparation, or insufficient technological preparation, of medical entities in the area of keeping electronic medical records.
