Potential opportunities to “improve the care process” in areas such as radiology are being examined by the new HSE Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Automation, the Medical Independent (MI) has been informed.
The CoE for AI and Automation has been established with a senior manager appointed to lead the team, the HSE confirmed.
The establishment of the centre was discussed at a meeting of the Sláintecare programme board in September 2024, according to minutes.
A HSE spokesperson told MI that opportunities to improve administrative processes (eg, human resources and financial processing) are also being examined.
“There are also several AI proof of concept projects in areas such as emergency care and discharge planning which are being developed.”
In 2025, the HSE will develop a framework for the use of AI in the health services “which will be aligned to the EU regulations”.
“This will ensure that we maximise the opportunities from AI, but also address legal, ethical, and other obligations in using AI. The process will also engage patients in the development of the framework.”
In 2024, “significant progress” was made in robotics and automation to streamline processes in a number of areas including waiting list management, according to the spokesperson.
The HSE National Service Plan 2025 has committed to further extending robotic process automation to reduce administrative time spent on large-scale processes. The plan also states that the HSE will deliver “initial pilot implementations of AI” through the CoE.
Separately, the HSE spokesperson told MI its new Health App was released to 1,000-1,500 people in late 2024. A wider public release is planned during the first quarter of this year.
“The HSE Health App will give people a simple and secure way to access their health information and a range of HSE services. It aims to put patients and the people who use our services at the centre of their own care journey and enhance their experience of the health service by providing secure access to their health information.”
The first version of the App facilitates booking of public hospital appointments for maternity services, digital medical cards and European Health Insurance Cards, communications about vaccinations, and signposting to services and self-care supports. The App also enables patients to carry a list of
current medications.
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