Theuns Kotze, Managing Director, Assurance BSI India, Middle East, Turkey and Africa explains about a validation framework for the use of AI within healthcare (BS 30440) has been published by BSI to help increase confidence among clinicians, healthcare professionals and clinical providers that the tools they are using have been developed in a safe, effective and ethical way
As Artificial Intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly common, it has the potential to be transformative for healthcare, ultimately improving patients’ quality of life and benefiting society. With the onset of more innovative AI tools and with AI algorithms’ ability to speedily digest copious volumes of data, there is the opportunity for clinicians to be able to make more efficient and better-informed diagnostic decisions so that they can prevent or treat diseases.
According to the World Economic Forum, AI expenditure in India is expected to reach $11.78 billion by 2025 and is expected to add $1 trillion to India’s economy by 2035. AI-driven healthcare is expanding rapidly and sustainably. AI uses algorithms to recognize patterns in data and derives conclusions from them. For example, such software can be used to determine the connection between different types of treatments and medical outcomes, or enable more accurate screening for conditions like breast cancer. By considering medical records and data analysis, AI aims to predict and prevent diseases in healthcare.
The COVID-19 pandemic increased the interest in remote healthcare models, such as platforms for automated appointment systems and healthcare apps, which continue to be used and adopted today. AI has the potential to be a force for good and enhance the utility of these platforms even further.
For example, patients can avoid long waiting times by making appointments and checking in through an app or website. By automating appointments and reducing complex paperwork, AI-enhanced solutions help to improve communication and save time for both patients and healthcare workers. Automated health chats can allow patients to ask medical questions without having to call their doctor. With only 64 doctors available per 1,000,000 people in India – compared to the global average of 150 – AI offers the ability to relieve pressure on elements of the Indian healthcare industry.
As the conversation continues globally regarding the appropriate use and oversight of AI, a validation framework for the use of AI within healthcare (BS 30440) has been published by BSI to help increase confidence among clinicians, healthcare professionals and clinical providers that the tools they are using have been developed in a safe, effective and ethical way. The auditable standard, which can be used globally, is specifically targeted at products whose key function is to enable or provide treatment or diagnosis or support the management of health conditions. Its purpose, ultimately, is to drive trust in an exciting new technology. It can help clinicians and patients evaluate healthcare AI products by considering criteria including clinical benefit, standards of performance, successful and safe integration into the clinical work environment, ethical considerations and social equitable outcomes
It covers healthcare AI products used in a range of settings, from regulated medical devices (such as software as a medical device) to user-facing products (such as imaging software) or patient-facing (such as smartphone chatbots using AI). It also encompasses AI products that are used in the home (such as monitoring products) or in community, primary, secondary or tertiary care settings. It applies to all products, models, systems or technologies that use elements of AI, including machine learning, and is also relevant to the AI system supplier and product auditors.
AI has the potential to shape our future in a positive way, but for this to happen, we all need trust and confidence in the tools being developed and deployed, especially in healthcare.
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