Dear HIFA colleagues,
Thanks to Richard Fitton, we are aware of the importance of the electronic medical record (EMR) and we recognise this as part of the information that every person and every health worker needs to protect their own health and the health of others. With EMR and the advent of artificial intelligence (AI), there is potential for transformational change in informed decision-making.
Imagine a future where every health worker has access to their patient's EMR. At each visit, the health worker adds new observations. AI automatically processes this to recommend a management plan for the health worker to consider, including which tests are needed, how to advise the patient, and which medicines to prescribe. The AI is freely available and is trustworthy, demonstrating reliability at least as good as the best clinicians.
To what extent is this already happening?
Is the above achievable? How long will it take?
We can imagine further that the health worker can focus their whole attention on the patient. They will no longer have to spend their time looking at the computer screen, entering data, because an AI tool is recording and summarising everything that is being said in the consultation, by the health worker and the patient. These interactions are simultaneously processed by AI to further refine the proposed management plan.
Finally, we can imagine a future where AI, EMRs and evidence-informed decision-making are routinely used in self-care and care by family members in the absence of a health worker. The content of the AI management plan would be adapted according to the needs of the user (language, literacy, geography, level of available resources...).
To what extent is this already happening?
Is the above achievable? How long will it take?
Best wishes, Neil
HIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is coordinator of HIFA (Healthcare Information For All), a global health community that brings all stakeholders together around the shared goal of universal access to reliable healthcare information. HIFA has 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting in four languages and representing all parts of the global evidence ecosystem. HIFA is administered by Global Healthcare Information Network, a UK-based nonprofit in official relations with the World Health Organization. Email: neil@hifa.org