Artificial Intelligence for Hospital Health Care: Application Cases and Answers to Challenges in European Hospitals

M. Klumpp, M. Hintze, M. Immonen, F. Ródenas-Rigla, F. Pilati, F. Aparicio-Martínez, D. Çelebi, T. Liebig, M. Jirstrand, O. Urbann, M. Hedman, JA. Lipponen, S. Bicciato, A-P. Radan, B. Valdivieso, W. Thronicke, D. Gunopulos, R. Delgado-Gonzalo. Healthcare. 2021; 9(8):961, 29 July 2021.

Abstract

The development and implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) applications in health care contexts is a concurrent research and management question. Especially for hospitals, the expectations regarding improved efficiency and effectiveness by the introduction of novel AI applications are huge. However, experiences with real-life AI use cases are still scarce. As a first step towards structuring and comparing such experiences, this paper is presenting a comparative approach from nine European hospitals and eleven different use cases with possible application areas and benefits of hospital AI technologies. This is structured as a current review and opinion article from a diverse range of researchers and health care professionals. This contributes to important improvement options also for pandemic crises challenges, e.g., the current COVID-19 situation. The expected advantages as well as challenges regarding data protection, privacy, or human acceptance are reported. Altogether, the diversity of application cases is a core characteristic of AI applications in hospitals, and this requires a specific approach for successful implementation in the health care sector. This can include specialized solutions for hospitals regarding human–computer interaction, data management, and communication in AI implementation projects.

 




Photo credits: Nic McPhee