AI has saved the health services over ‘a million hours’, says HSE boss

AI saved the HSE more than a “million hours” over the last five years, the HSE’s chief technology and transformation officer has said.

Damien McCallion said “a really aggressive target” had been set for the year, which is likely to save a further half a million hours.

He was speaking at the publication of Ireland’s first national AI for Care Strategy at the Mater Hospital in Dublin.

The initiative, launched by the Minister for Health on Wednesday, is described as being “dedicated to the safe, responsible, and effective application of artificial intelligence in health and social care”.

It sets out how staff and patients will benefit from faster diagnosis, better patient flow and earlier detection of diseases.

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill said “robust safeguards” such as mandatory human oversight are needed, and said the role of AI in Irish healthcare “is to not replace the clinical expertise, not replace the clinical judgment, but to work alongside it as a partner, to work alongside as a wing man”.

During his presentation, Mr McCallion said there were four main areas to the strategy; supporting clinical decisions, public health, research and operations.

It is in that final area he said the time savings have been made.

Mr McCallion said “a lot” of progress was made during the pandemic, and “now we have a challenge to make sure we can maintain it”.

He said it had been achieved “through automation processes, through the use of AI automation” in areas such as public health, HR and finance.

Speaking to reporters after the event, he was asked if this could jeopardise jobs in the health service, to which he replied: “So what we’re looking at is not necessarily about trying to take jobs out of the system.

“That time can be released to patient care, either to support activities or clinical time and relieve other pressures in the system.

“Many of our clinical staff are looking for more admin support to release them to clinical time.”

He said if the “drudgery” of “typing things in” can be automated, it would release the time to work on waiting lists, make phone calls to patients and “to support them around things that actually have a greater contribution”.