Future-proofing AI Across the HSE

The All-Ireland Clinical AI Congress and AI Tech Expo heard from Mr Damien McCallion, HSE Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief Technology and Transformation Officer. Mr McCallion provided an overview of how the HSE is planning for AI across the Irish health system and also gave the attendees an update on the introduction of the national electronic health record.

Mr McCallion presented an example of how AI can be prone to error, particularly when people seek information online, and how references are often conspicuously absent from AI’s responses to questions. “AI has a lot of strengths, but we also have to use it cautiously,” he told the Congress.

He outlined the four main pillars of the HSE AI for Care strategy: Clinical care; operations; research and innovation; and public population health.

Mr McCallion provided examples of where AI, when used appropriately, can enhance primary care consultations. This included patients with complex mental health needs, as it gives GPs quality time to listen to the patients, while AI captures the necessary notes.

“Documentation bedevils our system,” Mr McCallion told the Congress. “In parallel with investing in the new tools in the laboratory, in radiology and in our electronic health records, we have to make sure that we use AI sensibly to minimise the impact on people on the frontlines.”

He concluded: “Why are we doing this? It is ultimately for patients – to make their experience better, to give them tools so they can interact with us in a better way as a system – more efficiently and to give them more confidence in how they work with us.

“Many patients are very frustrated,” he continued. “When they get into the system, the general feedback is that the system works well. The issue is to engage with them – ‘Where am I on the waiting list?’ ‘Why am I getting two appointments for the hospital that are 10 miles apart on the same day and I’m travelling from Donegal?'”

These are some of the uncertainties that currently often frustrate patients, he said. “So it’s about using the technology to improve the patient experience and to give them guidance… and also for our staff, to ensure that they have more time to spend with patients and deliver care. That’s where the technology should ultimately help… and to provide assistance to clinicians in making decisions, rather than replacing them.”

The presentation was followed by a lively panel discussion, which featured the session’s speakers and Prof Patricia Maguire, Professor of Biochemistry and Director of the Institute for Discovery, University College Dublin (UCD), and Prof Peter Doran, Professor of Clinical Trials and Director of the UCD Clinical Research Centre. The session was rounded off with a presentation by Mr Liam Tremble (PhD), Principal Scientist, Poolbeg Pharma.