In the blog series "Healthy Bytes," the Rathenau Institute examines how artificial intelligence (AI) is being used responsibly for our health. In this fourth part, Carine van Oosteren, senior policy officer at the Social and Economic Council (SER), talks about the impact of AI on the tasks of healthcare professionals and healthcare employment. Examples of AI in healthcare help to understand how the work for healthcare professionals is changing.
Author: Carine van Oosteren
Artificial intelligence (AI) has proven good at detecting patterns in data. In healthcare, this is useful in diagnosis and preventive care.
For example, Skin Vision has developed an app to detect skin cancer at an early stage, without a visit to a doctor. The app user takes a picture with a smartphone and answers some questions. The app then performs a risk analysis on a patch of skin. If the algorithm assesses the risk of cancer as high, the user is notified within 48 hours about next steps. A team of dermatologists is attached to the app.
BedSense is an example of AI in preventive care. This AI application can prevent bedsores. BedSense consists of a sensor under a mattress that monitors a patient's lying behavior and a box on the wall that signals if a patient lies in the same position for too long.
The above examples raise expectations that the use of apps in healthcare will lead to better diagnoses and lower healthcare costs. The time saved by healthcare professionals thanks to these applications can be spent on other things, such as personal contact with patients. Benefits of applications such as Skin Vision and BedSense are the discomfort saved for patients, costs saved and task relief for medical staff. Other opportunities may be in the area of employment: does the use of AI help reduce workload and does it reduce the demand for healthcare personnel?
Healthcare employs more than 1 million workers. With 14 percent of the labor force, healthcare is our country's largest sector. In 2019, the UWV expected that the number of healthcare personnel will continue to grow due to the increasing aging population and a rising government budget for healthcare. The labor market for caregivers and nurses is very tight and the workload is high.
In particular, hospitals are experimenting with healthcare technology, as BedSense shows. For example, patients can measure their own health (remote patient management). Operating robots are being deployed and the possibilities offered by 3D printing are being used, for example 3D printed blood vessels or bones, custom-made plaster casts or models of diseased organs that help a surgeon prepare for surgery. This new technology creates new positions such as 3D printing operators, programmers of virtual reality and e-health programs or digi-coaches. But the competencies and tasks of regular healthcare professionals are also changing. For example, they must be able to use mathematical models in diagnostics, use self-measuring devices and interpret the data from them. This requires additional training. There is no evidence yet that AI helps reduce workload. No research has yet been done on this specific relationship.
There is also no evidence yet that the use of technology leads to less demand for staff. The AZW Employers Survey 2018 shows that the demand for personnel does not change with the use of new technologies and innovations. The Rathenau Institute predicts that technological developments will at most indirectly reduce the number of jobs. For example, if the application of new technology leads to better operations, and people are hospitalized for shorter periods as a result, a decreasing need for nursing staff may be the result.
It is still unclear whether the use of AI in preventive care and diagnosis will actually reduce healthcare costs. Apps can make mistakes, as can medical professionals. Someone who the app says has an increased risk of skin cancer will be advised to keep an extra close eye on their skin. If the photo is misinterpreted, a person may mistakenly get a worsened rash. This will lead to unnecessary worry and additional doctor visits.
Another question is whether people want a company to know about their physical imperfections and risk of disease. What if the company resells the data or goes bankrupt? What rights does a user have then?
To use AI responsibly in healthcare, it is important to know what applications are already being used, what they have to offer and what is still needed - such as training and further research - to make good use of them. Therefore, it is valuable to study examples of current AI applications; they help to understand how AI is changing healthcare work.
Source: Rathenau Institute
This article can also be found in the Privacy in Healthcare file
