More than one million hours have been saved in Ireland’s health service over the past five years through the use of automation and artificial intelligence in areas such as finance and administration, a health service executive has said.
On Wednesday, Health Minister Jennifer Carroll McNeil launched Ireland’s first national strategy for the use of AI in the health and social care system, saying it was a “unique opportunity to reshape the way healthcare is delivered”.
Carol McNeil said the technology would not be used as a “replacement” for clinicians, but rather “a wingman sitting next to you and saying, look at this.”
The minister added that it was important to ensure that intelligent technology was used in a “safe, reliable and human-centred way” so that patients could be reassured that their care was “not outsourced to computers”.
HSE Chief Technology and Transformation Officer Damien McCallion said significant time savings had been made in administrative and administrative areas between 2020 and 2025. This year, he said, the organization aims to save “an additional 500,000 hours.”
“They span areas such as human resources, finance, clinical management areas, waiting list management, where people are being tied up and forced to do things they don’t have to do,” he said.
The strategy says patients will receive faster diagnoses by leveraging AI to help radiologists read X-rays, CT scans, and MRIs faster and detect strokes, cancers, and bone fractures earlier.
AI can also be used to support patient discharge, reducing delays and reducing administrative burden. AI transcription tools reduce documentation time by up to 40%, allowing clinicians to spend more time with patients.
Professor Peter McMahon, a consultant radiologist at the Mater Hospital who led the introduction of AI at the hospital, said the technology would “free up clinicians to focus on what’s important”.
“What we do as clinicians is eliminate disease, and that can take time. And some would argue that it’s a waste of time when we should be spending more time on what’s there,” he says.
“This allows them to focus their attention on what’s important, what scans are important, what parts of the scan are important. It’s especially helpful when they’re tired, especially when they’re stressed.”
McMahon said research has shown that breast cancer detection has become possible, with AI reducing the time needed to research research and detect the disease by 44%, for example.
The Department of Health said the strategy is “based on a strong legal and regulatory foundation”, including upcoming guidance from the Health Information and Quality Agency on the safe use of AI and European legislation governing the use of AI.
