Data doctors: how AI is changing healthcare

Back in September 2017, NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens told the NHS Health and Care Innovation Expo that major artificial intelligence (AI) innovations were in the pipeline in the NHS. He said that AI and machine learning is being, and will be, used in areas such as dermatology and pathology to improve clinical care. Efficiencies have never been more necessary. However, according to some, the sector has been slow to catch up with AI's benefits. Dr Panos Constantinides, associate professor of information systems at Warwick Business School and a digital technology researcher, says: "Unlike in other sectors, where companies such as Amazon and Google have been able to use AI in combination with data on online user behaviour to make recommendations on future user choices, the highly regulated healthcare industry does not grant easy access to patient data. Maintaining the security and confidentiality of patient data is a key priority in most countries."