AI NHS integration a ‘significant challenge’

Integrating artificial intelligence into the NHS represents a “significant challenge” for decision makers, an innovation agency has said.

InnoScot Health has said there is “huge promise” in the technology but there must be a balancing of these opportunities with the need for good governance and building public trust.

The intervention comes after the Scottish Government launched its five-year AI strategy last month, which included analysis finding the sector could be worth £23bn to the economy by 2035.

Launching the strategy, Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes said it offered “the potential to be genuinely transformative” across a number of sectors, and the strategy was designed to ensure this was done “responsibly”.

InnoScot Health, which works in partnership with NHS Scotland to identify and develop healthcare innovations, welcomed the strategy and pointed to some positive uses of AI already – such as NHS Grampian’s GEMINI cancer screening project.

But executive chair Graham Watson added: “At the same time, if we take Scottish healthcare as a whole, it has been something of a tentative dipping of toes in the AI water up to this point, and rightfully so amid the need for trustworthy, ethical, and inclusive adoption.

“Quite simply, there must be absolute assurance that safety nets are in place to protect patients in what remains often unmapped territory for healthcare with lingering unknowns. There is also the issue of attempting to apply AI consistency to fragmented digital infrastructure.

“The new strategy’s shift from exploration to implementation therefore brings a lot of issues into sharp focus and represents a true crossroads for Scotland’s healthcare decision-makers.

“If we are to move from pilots to real-world deployment, while balancing the need for ensuring robust governance and securing public confidence, then it will be a significant challenge. There is huge promise, but it must be delivered correctly and, most importantly, safely.”

The government strategy runs until 2031 and will be overseen by AI Scotland.

Early actions, to be completed within the next year, include appointing AI industry champions in priority sectors; implementing a framework on safe, ethical and efficient use of the tech in health and social care; and establishing a future jobs panel for skills planning.

Speaking at its launch, NHS National Services Scotland’s chief data officer Albert King highlighted the need to rollout out these innovations “with care” and also “at pace”.