This AI Strategy for Healthcare in Ireland ‘AI for Care’ outlines the vision for AI in the Health Service and the opportunities for AI deployment over the next number of years and is fully aligned with our overall Digital for Care roadmap. As the population becomes increasingly familiar with digital healthcare technologies, their comfort and confidence in engaging with these solutions also grow. This growing familiarity leads to AI-driven improvements becoming a natural and expected progression in the advancement of healthcare services. The integration of AI into healthcare promises to enhance the quality of care, streamline operations and provide more personalised and efficient patient experiences.

Through the Digital for Care framework, Ireland’s health system is embarking on a significant journey of digital acceleration, laying the groundwork for the safe and effective adoption of AI. Digital for Care encompasses the implementation of several key digital health solutions, including Electronic Health Records (EHRs), the Health App, and the National Shared Care Record (NSCR). These foundational elements are crucial in driving the digital transformation of healthcare in Ireland. The importance of good data cannot be overstated when it comes to the safe, responsible and effective use of AI in healthcare, and the role of the Chief Data and Analytics office will be a key support in this area. High-quality, secure, and interoperable data is essential for AI to function optimally and deliver accurate insights. Complementing our AI Strategy, the Health Service Executive’s (HSE) forthcoming Data Strategy will also be a pivotal component of our national healthcare digital transformation. This strategy will ensure that all new AI solutions are built upon a robust foundation of high-quality data.

At the core of Ireland’s healthcare transformation is the empowerment of people and patients to become the guardians of their own health data. This empowerment means that individuals will have the ability to understand, access, and actively engage with their own health information, becoming partners in their care. Patients will also have the capability to manage who can access their data, ensuring privacy and control over their personal health information. This shift towards patient-centred data management is expected to foster greater trust in digital healthcare solutions and encourage more active participation in health management. The adoption of AI in healthcare will bring numerous benefits, including improved diagnostic accuracy, personalised treatment plans, and more efficient resource allocation. AI can analyse vast amounts of data quickly and accurately, providing healthcare professionals with valuable insights that can lead to better patient outcomes. AI algorithms can identify patterns in patient data that may indicate the early onset of diseases, allowing for timely intervention and treatment. Partnerships between healthcare providers, patient representative groups, AI vendors, regulatory bodies and academic institutions are key to the successful implementation of AI in healthcare. Educating our user community will foster transparency, trust, and informed decision-making and effective governance will be put in place to ensure the safe and effective utilisation of AI.

AI can help us in so many ways to improve how people access healthcare and the response they receive when they do. Much discourse can focus on the concern of AI replacing a workforce. In healthcare that is not the case, AI is complementary to the excellent and essential skills of healthcare professionals, and it is the combination of both is where we see the benefits. This AI Strategy provides the opportunity to promote and use AI as a transformative tool to improve the quality of care for patients, drive increased efficiency and productivity, and enable better research and population health planning.