The Department of Health has launched a pioneering program to promote the use of artificial intelligence in the Catalan health system, focused on aspects such as certain diagnoses or the rational use of medicines. Minister Manel Balcells insists that this technology should not be more than a tool to facilitate, and not replace, the work of toilets. “The human factor must never be lost, in no case do we have to worry about that,” he said.
There are hardly any precedents, none in Spain and some of a limited scope in Great Britain or the US, of structures dedicated to the promotion and implementation of AI in the health system. In Catalonia, yesterday the first meeting of the steering committee of the Salut/IA program took place, made up of healthcare professionals, technology experts and senior officials from different departments and agencies of the Generalitat, and led by Dr. José Ibeas, head of the group of I3PT investigation of Parc Taulí. “Properly applied AI can help us improve patient diagnosis, the efficiency and sustainability of the system,” argued Balcells.
According to Ibeas, it is about deploying AI-based instruments and at the same time “avoid generating doubts in the population” and guarantee security. In the first instance, the initiative will identify the points in the health system where AI can be most beneficial. Next, you will select the best tools that can be developed and, finally, you will contribute to their implementation.
Salut/IA has already evaluated more than a hundred projects underway in Catalan health centers and has set four entry challenges to incorporate this technology: chest x-ray, screening for diabetic retinopathy, diagnosis of melanoma and rational use. of drugs.
One of the initiatives registered at the observatory is the hospital Clínic’s skin cancer diagnosis support platform, which has developed algorithms for classifying skin tumors using high-precision digital photography and is working on predictive prognosis models based on through AI of cancer patients.
“The machines will not replace the professional’s diagnosis,” stressed the director of the Clínic’s skin cancer unit, Josep Malvehy. But, he qualified, well-trained algorithms can be a great help in a context of shortage of professionals: “Access to dermatologists is increasingly difficult, because skin cancer continues to increase, according to the WHO, and the number of specialists is what it is. Now in Europe there are not enough skin specialists to see all the patients”.
In this situation, in the near future, technology can contribute to making a first diagnosis in primary care centers, so that the doctor can rule out the existence of melanoma, send the patient directly to surgery or refer him to a specialist in dermatology. .
“The clinical application of AI can help to make decisions, make diagnoses and optimize resources, but always under the supervision and decision of the clinician, who is the one who sees the patient, treats him and has the elements to make decisions”, qualified the Councilor Balcells.
