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Low- and middle-income countries could soon overtake high-income countries in adopting new AI-enabled technologies in healthcare, a new report led by the Novartis Foundation and Microsoft revealed.
African countries like Ghana might be the fastest adopters due to the lack of legacy systems, but they have the most to lose if the government does not invest now.
Technologies such as mobile phone trading platforms, e-banking, e-commerce, and even blockchain applications have often been adopted faster and more fully in low- and middle-income countries than in countries. high income.
The adoption of health technologies is likely to follow the same trend, with the digital transformation accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the report titled “Reimagining Global Health Through Artificial Intelligence: The Roadmap to Maturity IA “.
In addition, he explains that investment in data and artificial intelligence will be a key tool that will drive improvements in the African health system during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sub-Saharan Africa currently accounts for 12% of the world’s population, but faces 25% of the global burden of disease, while hosting only 3% of the world’s health workers.
The global health worker shortage, which is particularly severe in many African countries, is projected to reach 18 million by 2030.
This drives the case for investment in supportive artificial intelligence tools, which can help nurses and community health workers diagnose and treat diseases traditionally seen by physicians.
The reduction in contact between patients and healthcare providers due to social distancing has led to tremendous growth in technologies such as AI-enabled diagnostics.
Millions more people have sought digital healthcare solutions, presenting a great opportunity for countries to integrate data and artificial intelligence into their healthcare systems.
The recommendations are grouped into six interdependent areas that must be prioritized to enable a mature integration of AI in healthcare.
The report uses current AI best practices to map out a roadmap that can help all countries move towards AI in health maturity.
For example, Rwanda is arguably now the most digitally connected healthcare system in Africa, with its virtual consulting service surpassing two million users – a third of the adult population in May 2020.
“Many countries are ill-prepared to address a new emerging disease like COVID-19 in addition to the existing burden of infectious diseases and the rising tide of chronic diseases.
Digital technology and artificial intelligence are essential enablers for redesigning healthcare systems from reactive to proactive, predictive and even preventive, ”said Dr. Ann Aerts, director of the Novartis Foundation and co-chair of the Novartis Foundation Task Force. the Broadband Commission on Digital Technology and AI in Health, which produced the report.
The Commission was established in 2010 by the International Telecommunication Union and UNESCO to expand broadband access in order to accelerate progress towards national and international development goals.
Dr Aerts said they had to develop a sustainable ecosystem for AI in healthcare in the countries where it is most needed.
“This has to happen while ensuring equity and access for all. As health systems rebuild after the pandemic, technological innovation must be a central part of the agenda. “
Sub-Saharan Africa has led the world in technology adoption before.
Novartis Sub-Saharan Africa Director Racey Muchilwa explained that Kenya, for example, has been a world leader in the adoption of mobile banking, which has picked up across Africa.
“… There is no reason why this should not happen with healthcare technology as well. As the examples in the report make clear, Africa could do more to create access to medical expertise by implementing AI-based support tools alongside health care programs. “
AI is driving access and improving outcomes while reducing costs by identifying potential health problems before they actually occur.
“AI can have a huge impact not just in low-income countries, but in all healthcare systems,” said Microsoft’s Paul Mitchell, who co-chaired the Task Force.
“It is clear that COVID-19 is driving a massive change in the use of technology in healthcare; we are seeing in a few months what I would have expected would normally take years, if not decades.”
AI is already changing the way health systems work in developing countries. In rural Rwanda, a doctor can treat up to 60,000 people.
The government is working with a private sector partner, Babylon Health, to give everyone 12 and older access to digital health consultations.
More than 30 percent of Rwanda’s adult population has signed up. The new partnership will also see the introduction of an AI-powered triage and symptom verification platform.
In India, hospitals use artificial intelligence to accurately predict a patient’s risk of a heart attack seven years before it happens.
Resources and medicine can be targeted specifically to those most at risk. In Malaysia, Brazil and the Philippines, AI is being used to tackle multiple mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue, Zika, and chikungunya.
The program continually extracts multidimensional data from more than 90 public databases and adjusts for 276 variables that influence the spread of the disease to predict when outbreaks are likely to occur.
UNICEF has developed an artificial intelligence program to reduce the social and economic burden of outbreaks through specific health measures for the population.
Its Magic Box program predicts when outbreaks are likely to occur and allows health systems to reorganize their resources, alert health workers and launch public health campaigns, so they can respond better and faster to emergencies.
The report recommends that governments identify and test innovative ways to finance AI in healthcare solutions.
“To ensure long-term affordability for all, national reimbursement for AI-enabled and digital health services is key. Secure and privacy-preserving data governance must be part of ensuring a sustainable infrastructure. “
