The Department of Health has activated a pioneering program to promote the use of artificial intelligence in the health system of Catalonia, focusing on aspects such as certain diagnoses or the rational use of medicines. Councilor Manel Balcells insists that this technology must be nothing more than a tool to facilitate, and not replace, the work of health workers. “The human factor must never be lost, under no circumstances should we suffer because of it,” he said.
There are hardly any precedents, towards Spain and some of limited scope in the United Kingdom or the USA, of structures dedicated to the promotion and application of AI in the healthcare system. In Catalonia, the first meeting of the Health/AI program steering committee took place yesterday, made up of care professionals, technology experts and high-ranking officials from various departments and agencies of the Generalitat, and led by Dr. José Ibeas, head of the group of I3PT research of Taulí Park. “Well-applied AI can help us improve the diagnosis of patients, the efficiency and sustainability of the system”, argued Balcells.
It is, according to Ibeas, to deploy instruments based on algorithms and at the same time “avoid creating doubts among the population” and guarantee the safety of patients. In the first instance, the initiative will identify the points in the health system where AI can be most beneficial. It will then select the best tools that can be developed and, finally, 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, diabetic retinopathy screening, melanoma diagnosis and the use rational of drugs.
One of the initiatives registered at the observatory is the Clínic hospital’s skin cancer diagnosis support platform, which has developed algorithms for the classification of skin tumors by means of high-precision digital photography and is working on predictive models of prognosis through AI for cancer patients.
“The machines will not replace the diagnosis of the professional”, stressed the director of the Clinic’s skin cancer unit, Josep Malvehy. But, he clarified, well-trained algorithms can be of 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. At the moment there are not enough skin specialists in Europe to see all the patients”.
In this context, in the near future technology, through the interpretation of photographs of the skin, 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 make decisions, make diagnoses and optimize resources, but always under the tutelage and decision of the clinician, who is the one who sees the patient, treats him and has elements to make decisions”. explained councilor Balcells.
