What can AI bring to the future of private and public healthcare?

More funding for AI technology to address NHS waiting times

The integration of AI technologies within the UK’s public healthcare sector looks set to advance as Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, awards funding to technology aimed at cutting NHS waiting times. 

The announcement took place at Meta’s ‘Hackathon’ held in London. The event brought together over 200 developers, tasking them to utilise the tech giants open-source AI model, Llama 3.2, to aid UK public services. According to one senior Meta executive, the technologies would be “focused on the priorities of the Labour party.”

The winning team, a technology group named Guardian, developed a concept of an AI-powered triage assistant that could allow for reduced A&E waiting times and improved resource allocation. According to Meta, the concept would achieve this through intelligent patient intake, real-time risk assessments, and an AI agent that acts as a second eye for doctors. 

Speaking at the event, the UK’s Minister for AI, Feryal Clark, said, “It was inspiring to be at Meta and discuss how open-source AI can be harnessed for public benefit. Whether assessing cancer diagnosis, boosting productivity, or developing new tools to combat climate change, this technology holds immense potential”.

The hackathon was addressed by former deputy prime minister, now Meta’s President of Global Affairs, Nick Clegg. Clegg emphasised how, due to the UK’s depth of computing talent, it could lead in the deployment of AI. 

“We eagerly anticipate these projects coming to life and look forward to working with our winners as well as the UK Government to develop it further” Clegg added.

The potential impact of AI on the NHS

The news comes at a time of enormous growth for the AI industry, with its use being deployed across various industries, ranging from financial services to advertising. According to a study by Bloomberg Intelligence (BI) the generative AI market could be worth over $1.3 trillion by 2032.

At a time when over 7 million patients in England are on the NHS waiting lists and there are over 100,000 staff vacancies, many industry commentators have noted the revolutionary potential of AI within the healthcare industry.

In an article focused on the potential of AI in healthcare, Briar Smith, the co-founder and CTO of healthcare technology company ‘Attunement’ outlined how AI technologies, such as large language models (LLMs), could be applied to assist healthcare professionals in issues ranging from assisting clinicians with diagnosis to creating compressive treatment plans. 

A recent study published in the Journal for Digital Medicine has even found that AI’s capabilities in the diagnosis of disorders such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) can often parallel those of doctors. 

Sir John Bell, a senior government advisor on life sciences, also noted AI’s “transformative” nature in an interview with the BBC, “AI will improve the accuracy of diagnostic scans and generate a forecast of patient outcomes under different medical interventions, leading to more informed, personalised treatment decisions.”

AI's impact on the private healthcare sector

AI’s potential hasn’t just been noted by those focused on the public healthcare sector. In a recent report by the Independent Healthcare Providers Network (IHPN), an organisation composed of many of the UK’s private sector's key players, members outlined some of the ways they see the private sector going in the next 10 years.

The report suggests that through AI’s capabilities in relieving clinicians of back office administrative tasks, more time could be allocated to focus on patients. In Health, a UK-based health technology company, told the IHPN how they were already making use of some AI-based technologies to reduce the number of 'did not attends' (DNAs) and improve customer satisfaction. 

Regulation and management of AI tools is needed

However, the promise of AI within healthcare still has a way to go. One problem lies in so-called ‘hallucinations’ that can lead to the technology generating content that is not substantiated. Dr Caroline Green, a member of the Institute for Ethics in AI at Oxford University, detailed to the BBC the significance of making sure healthcare professionals are aware of such faults.

“It is important that people using these tools are properly trained in doing so, meaning they understand and know how to mitigate risks from technological limitations” she says.

Speaking at Meta, Clegg played down some of the fears surrounding AI. “Who knows, maybe AI will start developing a mind of its own and will start wanting to turn us into paper clips by next Tuesday… but I think that right now, the technology is way more primitive than fears suggest.”

Clark, (Feryl), also noted how, whilst the Labour Party would not “shy away from the significant risk AI represents,” the government would “make sure that any regulation we introduce is proportionate, supports innovation and does not place an undue burden on business.”

As the presence that AI technologies hold in society appears to be ever growing, it is hard to know the potential that AI may hold in aiding UK’s struggling healthcare system. What does seem clear, however, is that there’s some significant regulatory and technological challenges to overcome before its widespread use.

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