How a knowledge drive is helping to bridge the AI skills gap
When Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology first entered the healthcare stage, clinicians feared they would be replaced and that the immense technological change in hospitals was too big of a mountain to climb. Over time the threats have receded; AI is not only a technological advancement born to supersede the human side of clinical care, but also a tool to harness the enormous volumes of valuable patient data and power the productivity of the clinical practice. AI also aims to enrich and redirect the work of professionals, leading to more focused, humanised patient care and, ultimately, improved outcomes.
However, recent reports highlight an emerging nemesis to the advancement of AI - a rapidly growing gap in the knowledge and skills of healthcare professionals to implement and operate it. Could this be its biggest challenge yet? And could it be that AI will not replace medical professionals, but that medical professionals that do not keep pace with AI will be replaced by those who do?
AI skills in healthcare need to grow to avoid a decline in progress
No one can doubt the continued rise of AI. Recent research into the global market for AI in healthcare, which valued it at $6.7 billion in 2020, has indicated that it will expand at a CAGR of 41.8% from 2021 to $120.2 billion by 2028.[i] But, at the same time, there is a gap in healthcare experts’ practical knowledge and education on operating and implementing innovative technologies.
A report from EIT Health[ii], a network of best-in-class health innovators backed by the EU, and McKinsey & Company[iii], included insights from healthcare decision-makers and people on the frontline of healthcare delivery. It exposed ‘an urgent need to attract, educate and train a generation of data-literate healthcare professionals and to up-skill current workforces to fully realise the transformative potential of AI.’ This report championed the potential of AI to enhance and focus the work of healthcare professionals with the automation and digitisation of routine tasks, especially for those who can spend up to 70 percent of their time on administration. However, it also found that new organisational models and skill sets were needed to support the adoption and scaling of AI.
“Basic digital skills, biomedical and data science, data analysis and the fundamentals of genomics are subjects that are rarely taught alongside traditional clinical sciences systematically,” explains Jorge Fernández García, co-author of the report, ex-Director of Innovation at EIT Health and HelloAI lecturer. “And so, through no fault of its own, today’s healthcare workforce is simply not yet equipped for the adoption of AI.”
A new educational programme to bridge the knowledge gap on AI
In a bid to bridge the AI knowledge gap, GE Healthcare and EIT Health launched HelloAI initiative. It is a unique programme for health professionals to break boundaries and build a broad understanding of AI and big-data technologies in the medical world. To date, close to 2000 participants have completed the courses to enable AI utilization in the medical environment. More recently, 530 European university students completed a HelloAI online summer school, and an additional 350 professionals from 37 countries graduated from a new and comprehensive HelloAI Professional programme.
The HelloAI Professional programme offers a 10-week blended-learning experience to develop confidence and deepening knowledge in AI. EIT Health, GE Healthcare, KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden and LEITAT brought together key players in AI-powered diagnostic imaging to share technical data, research studies, and practical examples to help power a future in AI.
Key knowledge transfer and best practices included how AI makes healthcare more human; the benefits of AI to healthcare; ways to realise and scale-up ideas to be a market-ready AI product or service; new funding opportunities for AI in healthcare, and others. The program covered an unexampled deep dive view on AI specific to Healthcare, participants appreciated a lot.
“Programmes like HelloAI can certainly facilitate reskilling and upskilling to embrace and adopt emerging technologies like AI. I would highly recommend it to all healthcare providers globally to enhance knowledge and skills for AI. This will lead to better patient safety, accurate and fast-paced clinical decisions and a strengthened healthcare system.”
-- Dr. Wardah Qureshi, CPHQ, Dubai
Although I have been following AI development for several years, this programme provided me with practical industry-specific knowledge and insight backed by credible, specialised organisations and individuals. The content was diverse in terms of scope and technical depth, and I will use the knowledge in practice as a healthcare consultant in the near future.”
-- Dr. Jan Esser, Healthcare Consultant and Medical Practitioner, Vital Pursuit
“The biggest value of the HelloAI programme for me is the community that it generates. I joined to learn about new technology and approaches in healthcare and to share the experience with peers in other countries. I hope that the community aspect will be expanded into the future.”
-- Bernald Leone, Founder of Sensosan.
“It was great to know more about the development process behind AI and learn the basics of programming. I am more convinced that AI is not just the future, but also the present, and radiologists and physicians specialised in medical imaging have to be part of it.”
-- Pablo Rodríguez Carnero, Radiology Department at La Princesa University Hospital, Madrid
A digital hub to drive the rapid adoption of innovation
Located in Budapest and Szeged in Hungary, over 500 GE Healthcare software engineers use AI and Deep Learning techniques to research and deliver better, faster and more effective diagnosis and treatment. This digital hub is where the idea for HelloAI was born four years ago and involves partners, not only from industry and education, but also different segments of the healthcare ecosystem such as regional health accelerators, start-ups, healthcare providers and patient organizations. HelloAI is designed to go beyond an academic programme by fusing industry expertise, hands-on experience and practical knowledge to ensure that innovation and education keep pace jointly.
The HelloAI expansion in the last 12-months has been fuelled by the need for more outstanding education to help drive faster adoption of healthcare innovations in a Covid era and facilitated by the ability to partner with peers across the globe to share knowledge with the people that need it most.
The HelloAI expansion in the last 12-months has been fuelled by the need for more outstanding education to help drive faster adoption of healthcare innovations in a Covid era and facilitated by the ability to partner with peers across the globe to share knowledge with the people that need it most.
Collaboration of all the AI stakeholders, from developers, industry, healthcare professionals and healthcare providers, is required to ensure understanding, validation and firmly grasp what AI can achieve with patient outcomes at the core.
“A unique and broad collaboration with academic and clinical partners across Europe and the US means that our multi-disciplinary teams in Hungary have wide access to data and clinical expertise to develop revolutionary products and services for global markets,” states Attila Ferik, Senior Director, Software Engineering at GE Healthcare. “We are committed to sharing this deep-tech experience and knowledge with wider health professionals and entrepreneurs to drive AI adoption in healthcare further.”
Confidence to operationalize AI now & into the future
The global health community has welcomed providing a bridge between technology innovation and practical application. HelloAI goes beyond pure education to create collaboration that will build momentum and adapt in tune with its members’ needs and expectations into the future. The flexibility of the agendas and programme specifications will widen to attract a broader audience with different levels of technical background but keep its core aim – creating confidence and community in AI.
"The average person generates more than 1 million gigabytes of healthcare data during their lifetime or approximately 300 million books; these massive volumes of data far exceed human cognitive capacities, which allow for approximately 5 to 10 facts per decision." says Jan Beger, Senior Director Digital Ecosystem at GE Healthcare.
“Artificial Intelligence is broadly expected to drive significant benefits across healthcare systems increasing efficiency, decreasing operational cost and improving patient outcomes. With such exponential acceleration in AI in daily clinical work, medical professionals must educate themselves and be prepared for future disruption in the industry. AI can make healthcare data-driven, value-based, and patient-centric. I’m confident that the HelloAI initiative can equip medical professionals with the right skillset to operationalize AI for faster, more accurate patient diagnoses and reduced administrative clinical burdens in the future,” concludes Professor Mathias Goyen, Chief Medical Officer, GE Healthcare EMEA.
According to the World Health Organisation, by 2030 the world will be short of 9.9 million doctors, nurses and midwivesiv, adding further urgency to the challenges of already overburdened health systems.
The EIT Health and McKinsey & Company report suggests that ‘supporting the widespread adoption and scaling of AI could help alleviate resource capacity shortfalls both now, and in the future, for example, by streamlining or even eliminating administrative tasks that can occupy anything between 20% to 80% of a healthcare professional’s timev
References:
[i] AI in healthcare market size, share & trends analysis report 2021 – 2028, Grand View Research, May 2021
[ii] EIT Health, https://eithealth.eu/
[iii] Transforming healthcare with AI: The impact on the workforce and organisations, EIT Health, McKinsey & Co, 3 March 2020
[iv] World Health Organisation, Global strategy on human resources for Health: Workforce 2030 / Data & Statistics
[v] Transforming healthcare with AI: The impact on the workforce and organisations, EIT Health, McKinsey & Co, 3 March 2020
