Careful discussion needed on AI in healthcare
The AMA has told a government consultation on artificial intelligence that better regulation and governance is needed on the application of AI in the healthcare sector.
In a submission to a Department of Industry, Science and Resources discussion paper, Supporting responsible AI, the AMA said a lack of regulation, and transparency on ethical principles of AI developers are key challenges for AI in Australia.
The AMA sees significant opportunities in the appropriate application of AI in healthcare, provided proper governance is in place, but warns there is potential for patient injury from system errors, systemic bias embedded in algorithms and increased risk to patient privacy.
AMA President Professor Steve Robson said there are key health principles that need to be introduced into AI, for example ensuring patients and practitioners consent to the episode of care and/or their personal data being used for machine learning.
“AI is a rapidly evolving field with varying degrees of understanding among clinicians, other health care professionals, administrators, consumers and the wider community. We think a separate discussion with all health sector stakeholders needs to happen.
“There has been a lot of good work done by the European Union, Canada and other countries around privacy, data ownership and governance that we can learn from and adapt to the Australian and healthcare contexts, and we need to examine this through the healthcare lens, so we get it right for the future wellbeing of our patients.”
The Guardian reported the AMA position that the European Union Artificial Intelligence Act is a good model for Australia and any legislation should embed a compliance to governance based on principles which ensure:
- safety and quality of care provided to patients
- patient data privacy and protection
- appropriate application of medical ethics
- equity of access and equity of outcomes through elimination of bias
- transparency in how algorithms used by AI and ADM tools are developed and applied
- that the final decision on treatment should always rest with the patient and the medical professional, while at the same time recognising the instances where responsibility will have to be shared between the AI (manufacturers), the medical professionals and service providers (hospitals or medical practices).
Read more about the consultation on the department’s website
