In an increasingly digitalised and connected world, artificial intelligence (AI) and digitalisation are gaining ground and are profoundly changing the way we live and work. The covid-19 pandemic has given an important boost and a significant acceleration to the digitisation process. In this context, the healthcare system cannot be left behind!
As declared in the Position Statement by EFN, “Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly affecting the functioning of our healthcare systems, as well as our citizens’ expectations of these systems. The use of AI technologies to deliver care more cost-effectively represents an opportunity to relieve the currently strained healthcare systems – particularly in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.”
From a healthcare professionals’ perspective, digitalisation and AI could have a great potential for supporting nurses in their daily frontline job. What it is necessary, at this stage, is to create digital tools which can really help and facilitate nurses and other healthcare professionals’ working life. This is possible only by engaging nurses in co-creation! Nurses really know what the healthcare eco-system needs and where digitalisation could be helpful and essential for achieving better health and care outcomes. Deploying AI to improve the healthcare outcomes implies involving nurses in all the creation and designing processes, starting from the conceptualisation.
Another important point to keep in mind, is to give nurses and allied healthcare professionals a clear overview and evidence on the potential of these instruments prior deployment. It is essential to highlight how these AI tools can facilitate and support their daily work. Digitalisation and digital tools are useful only if they support nurses to deliver high quality and safe care!
In 2020, the second five-year digital strategy “shaping Europe’s digital future” focused on three key objectives in digital: technology that works for people, a fair and competitive economy and an open, democratic and sustainable society. In 2021, the strategy was complemented by the 10-year digital compass: the European way for the digital decade, which puts the EUs digital ambitions for 2030 into concrete terms.
In this EU context, digital tools could have a positive impact on both patients/citizens and healthcare professionals, especially frontline nurses. Digital solutions could create a more resilient healthcare eco-system and nurses’ could be the best ally to spread the right information, being the most trusted healthcare professional and closest to patients.
To assess whether Artificial Intelligence systems used complies with the 7 requirements indicated in the Ethics Guidelines for Trustworthy AI, the Assessment List for Trustworthy AI has been created by the High-Level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence established by the European Commission.
EFN, representing 3 million nurses in the EU and 6 million in Europe, supports the boosts of the digitalisation process and in particular the engagement of nurses in co-creation. It is necessary to create the right digital instruments which can facilitate and support nurses’ daily operational activities/services. This is an initial and essential step for creating sustainability and resilience of the healthcare eco-system and healthcare professional workforce.
Support innovation, digitalisation and a trustworthy healthcare eco-system!