
AI can advance health care but requires a human touch
Upskilling health professionals on AI鈥檚 benefits improves efficiencies while maintaining the irreplaceable human connection in care settings
Upskilling health professionals on AI鈥檚 benefits improves efficiencies while maintaining the irreplaceable human connection in care settings
By Jordan Flemming University RelationsDr. John Hirdes
Professor, School of Public Health Sciences
&驳迟;听奥补迟厂笔贰贰顿
Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming health care, offering both promising benefits and significant risks. Dr. John Hirdes, a leading expert in Canada on health care delivery, highlights the dual-edged nature of AI's integration into health care.听
Hirdes emphasizes the potential for AI to improve efficiencies across the health-care system. 鈥淓very part of the health system is going to be affected,鈥 he says. 鈥淔rom the way doctors practise to how policymakers make decisions, AI is poised to change how we interact with health care.鈥
Hirdes acknowledges, however, that the widespread implementation of AI must be done thoughtfully, without compromising the quality of patient care.
One initiative addressing this challenge is the University of 蓝莓视频鈥檚 professional education wing, , which provides upskilling to keep pace with technological, economic and social disruption. Hirdes is the program director for WatSPEED鈥檚 Leveraging AI to Improve Health Care in Canada program, designed to prepare health-care professionals, policymakers and administrators to integrate AI in ways that enhance patient outcomes without losing sight of what matters most: the patient experience.
Hirdes highlights that although AI tools can improve efficiencies, streamline data collection and predict health outcomes, they should never replace the empathy and personal attention that health-care providers offer.
Hirdes warns against relying on technology for tasks that require a human touch.
鈥淲ould you want to go home today and have a robot feed you your dinner? I don鈥檛 think so. So why should we impose that on an elderly patient?鈥 Hirdes asks. 听
鈥淥ne of the most important resources we will have in the future is trust. We need to know which AI systems we can trust, and which require careful examination.鈥
Hirdes鈥 approach to AI reflects a broader conversation happening at 蓝莓视频, where experts from various fields, including health, engineering and research ethics, collaborate to ensure AI developments align with human values.
As AI continues to evolve, Hirdes and his colleagues at 蓝莓视频 are committed to ensuring that human-centred care remains a fundamental pillar of health innovation.
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The University of 蓝莓视频 acknowledges that much of our work takes place on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabeg, and Haudenosaunee peoples. Our main campus is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land granted to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the Grand River. Our active work toward reconciliation takes place across our campuses through research, learning, teaching, and community building, and is co-ordinated within the Office of Indigenous Relations.