Future of Healthcare and Artificial Intelligence (AI):
Practical Insights and Diverse Perspectives
on AI in Healthcare Project Management
SERIES ARTICLE
By Dr. Deepa Bhide, MBBS, DCH, PMP
Hyderabad, India
INTRODUCTION
AI in healthcare presents a fascinating paradox. While Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered fitness trackers can detect potential health issues, they raise ethical concerns. One worry is that the algorithms behind these trackers might be biased, leading to false positives for specific groups. Additionally, these alerts often lack transparency, causing unnecessary anxiety without providing context or next steps. In a recent incident with a close family friend, a wristband-based advanced healthcare AI monitoring system created a false alarm. The physician in the picture did not dismiss the AI warning and acknowledged its potential value but emphasized the crucial role of human expertise in healthcare. He performed a physical exam, considering the AI’s limitations, and reassured my friend about her health status. Potential for bias, along with transparency and explainability, were questioned in this case. The case underscored the irreplaceable value of human judgment (human-in-the-loop model) and expertise in healthcare.
While new technology using AI has the potential to revolutionize healthcare, it’s essential to consider the associated challenges. These advancements benefit patients, doctors, researchers, and extended stakeholders, requiring vast amounts of patient data and raising concerns about privacy, security, and ethics. However, various frameworks are being established for AI in healthcare, designed to manage risk and promote trustworthiness, transparency, and accountability. These frameworks are crucial in protecting patient privacy and fostering responsible AI adoption, providing a solid foundation for the future of AI in healthcare.
This article is a comprehensive exploration of the integration of AI into healthcare. It highlights the immense promise of AI in enhancing patient care and streamlining clinical workflows. However, it also emphasizes the need for responsible use of AI, necessitating a thorough understanding of the ethical implications. We delve into the fundamental principles of accountable, transparent, and explainable AI (XAI) in healthcare, exploring the challenges posed by data bias, patient privacy concerns, and the need for human oversight. By understanding these potential obstacles, project managers can guide the development and deployment of AI solutions that are not just effective but also trustworthy and ethical.
This article provides insight into the experiences and perspectives of a few experts in ethics and AI in healthcare.
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Ethical Experts – The Guardians of Trustworthy AI
Excerpts of interviews with the following experts:
Archana Atmakuri – Country Researcher for the Global Index on Responsible AI (GIRAI), New Zealand
Dr. Milind Bhide – Pediatrician and Neonatologist, India
A few ethics experts interviewed wished to contribute anonymously.
The Interviews
Q 1: What is your background and experience in AI projects?
The impact of responsible AI in healthcare is around enhanced diagnostics, personalized care, efficient resource allocation, and precision in medicine and drug discovery. AI-generated insights can assist physicians in making more informed treatment decisions for their patients rather than replacing them. To identify, design, execute, and monitor this technology for healthcare benefit, dedicated, pragmatic leadership is necessary to nurture the adoption successfully.
“I am presently involved in the Global Index on Responsible AI (GIRAI), a multi-year initiative focused on promoting and broadening the global discourse and actions related to responsible AI. The Global AI Index is a tool generating key data on responsible AI commitments and progress in 120 countries. With its extensive global outreach, the project seeks to magnify a wide range of experiences and expertise from diverse regions, with a particular emphasis on those in the Global South. It aims to highlight the endeavors of various regions in meeting human rights obligations and adhering to principles for the responsible development and deployment of AI. My role involves researching Singapore’s AI ecosystem for the Index to evaluate the extent of Responsible AI practices within the country,” Archana commented.
“I am a newly appointed Chief AI Ethics Officer (CAIEO) at our organization, with an impressive lineup of digital transformation projects. As AI adoption and integration grow as an organization’s competitive advantage, our leadership considers this role critical to the goals. My role is to ensure that the AI applications that our organization develops or is deployed in the projects are trustworthy, explainable, and follow our corporate values. I am also mandated to ensure the organization has tools and training to embed these in what they produce,” – anonymous.
“My role has recently been titled “Healthcare AI Ethics Lead” or “Clinical AI Ethics Specialist.” I am responsible for identifying potential biases, advising on fair data practices, and ensuring compliance with ethical guidelines. I found these titles interesting as they never existed earlier with this set of explicitly outlined responsibilities” – anonymous.
Q 2: What are some ethical considerations for using AI in healthcare projects?
More…
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Editor’s note: This series is by Dr. Deepa Bhide, a practicing pediatrician with additional experience in information technology and project management. Her 2023 series of articles introduced readers to a range of important issues related to programs, projects and PM in healthcare. In this new series, Dr. Bhide will interview experienced healthcare, IT and project professionals around the world to reflect on the impact of artificial intelligence on global healthcare. Learn more about Dr. Bhide in her author profile at the end of this article. To read previous works by Dr. Bhide, visit https://pmworldlibrary.net/authors/dr-deepa-bhide/
How to cite this paper: Bhide, D. (2024). Empowering Healthcare with Ethics and Efficiency; Practical Insights and Diverse Perspectives on AI in Healthcare Project Management, series article, PM World Journal, Vol. XIII, Issue VI, June. Available online at https://pmworldlibrary.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/pmwj142-Jun2024-Bhide-Healthcare-and-AI-Empowering-Healthcare-with-Ethics-and-efficiency.pdf
About the Author
Dr. Deepa Bhide
Hyderabad, India
Dr. Deepa Bhide, MBBS, DCH, PMP, has over 20 years of professional experience where she has blended medical practice and research with IT and Project Management. She juggles consulting, training, and operations and is proficient in clinical medicine, project management, and healthcare information technology. Starting her career as a medical practitioner, she has worked with varied organizations before her current stint as director and clinical expert for Inventurus Knowledge Solutions.
Deepa’s growing interest and work in these areas, born from her day-to-day patient interactions, helped her view Project Management as a backbone of progressive healthcare. Her paper on “Patient Care – A Project Management Perspective” has received global recognition and acclaim. With a physician background as a solid foundation to leverage IT/PM skills and knowledge, Deepa has blended her broad-based experience and learnings to present a unified, holistic, and wholesome view of Project Management and Healthcare, a cross-domain confluence. Through various webinars, events, talks, and writings across platforms, Deepa has been an evangelist in championing global project management during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A Gold medalist from Osmania University for standing First in the MBBS course, she pursued her DCH in Pediatrics and Child health. Deepa has served various roles in local and global Project Management Institute (PMI) regions. She remains actively engaged with PMI and has been a participant and speaker for various national and global meetings and online events.
Deepa lives in Hyderabad, India, and loves traveling, singing, and experimenting with global cuisine. She can be contacted at deepa.bhide@gmail.com.
To view other works by Dr. Bhide, visit her author showcase in the PM World Library at https://pmworldlibrary.net/authors/dr-deepa-bhide/
