Increasing use of AI in healthcare - Terveystalo has published its ethical principles for AI

Solving the skills gap is a major societal challenge, and one that AI has great potential to address.

– AI will improve access to care, for example by removing routine tasks from healthcare professionals. The increasing use of AI in healthcare requires organisations to define clear principles for its responsible, safe and ethical use," says Tuomo Oikarainen, a digital physician at Terveystalo.

Terveystalo is committed to promoting the ethical use of AI

Terveystalo has published its Ethical Principles for AI, which guide the development and use of AI at Terveystalo. The ethical principles cover issues such as responsibility, safety, and data protection.

– Digital solutions are an integral part of Terveystalo's strategy. We want to be involved in promoting innovations that have a positive impact on healthcare and society. With the ethical principles of artificial intelligence, we ensure that we make the right decisions in a rapidly evolving environment. These principles are complemented by detailed policies and guidelines on the development, use and safety of AI," says Oikarainen.

Medicine must also lead the way in the use of AI

AI can not only improve access to care, but also the quality of care. Medical research knowledge and patient benefit must be at the heart of all technological developments.

– AI should only be used for clearly defined purposes and to improve the quality of care. AI must also be trained with medically reliable data within the limits of the law and comply with the relevant regulations and guidelines," Oikarainen comments.

AI is already improving the quality of care in areas such as imaging.

– For example, many of Terveystalo's MRI scanners have already received a software update that uses AI computing based on neural networks. At the same time, a computer with higher computing power has been upgraded. The AI improves image quality by, among other things, detecting the contours of tissues and structures, resulting in more accurate and higher quality images.

The diagnostic accuracy of MRI imaging is therefore improved, while imaging times are reduced.

– Shorter imaging times will make examinations more convenient for clients. At best, imaging times have been reduced by 33%.

The use of AI must focus on people and the needs that arise from real situations

AI will also significantly change the way we work in healthcare.

– This change must lead to more meaningful work for healthcare professionals. This will be achieved by developing digital tools and the use of AI in close cooperation with professionals and by ensuring that the solutions integrate smoothly into the professionals' processes," Oikarainen says.

For example, at the moment, healthcare professionals spend a huge amount of unnecessary time on different types of record-keeping. In the future, artificial intelligence will make it easier to carry out various recordings, statements and other routine tasks.

– In the Terveystalo's chat rooms, AI-assisted patient record-keeping is already commonplace for some doctors. A test group is underway in which the AI will draft a draft patient report for the doctor based on the patient's initial data and the chat conversation. The doctor either accepts, edits or rejects the report," says Oikarainen.

The quality, patient safety and value of the AI output is closely monitored. The physician is always responsible for the treatment and treatment decisions.

– Monitoring shows that quality is already high. In only 1.3% of cases has a doctor rejected a proposal made by an AI, 63% have modified the proposal and 35% have accepted it as it is. Our professionals' time has been freed up to meet patients and the cognitive load of reception work has been reduced.

Rapidly evolving technologies need to be subjected to more rigorous screening

High-quality research on the effectiveness and quality of AI is particularly important.

– Our biggest risk as an industry is not starting, learning and researching the impact of AI in healthcare. At Terveystalo, we collect extensive data on the impact of AI projects on different dimensions of quality. We also conduct peer-reviewed published research on these projects to share lessons learned more widely for healthcare and medicine," Oikarainen comments.

In addition to reliability and quality, privacy, data protection and information security are primary factors in the development and use of AI.

– New AI tools at Terveystalo undergo similar data protection and information security assessments as other new technologies. These rapidly developing technologies will be subject to an even more rigorous screening process than normal. These processes are designed to ensure that we comply with applicable regulations and ethical principles when using AI, and that the tools have a high level of data security.