Experts Harp on Custom-built AI System in Healthcare Delivery

Stories by Emma Okonji

Medical and communications experts have stressed the importance of widespread adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology in healthcare delivery across Africa.

They however highlighted the need for a custom-built AI system that would promote trust and credibility among medical practitioners in healthcare delivery across Africa.

They spoke at a webinar, organised by The Newmark Group, a leading Pan-African Integrated Marketing Communications firm, themed: ‘AI in Healthcare: Opportunities And Challenges’.

Co-Founder, Rx Health Info Systems, Mr. Daniel Marfo, urged African medical practitioners to consider working with AI tool that is customised or built along some treatment plans and guidelines in the country. 

According to him, at the macro level, where decisions are being made by policymakers, and decision makers, we are seeing AI systems sitting at the heart of all the data culminating in the health systems of countries coming through, and they are using systems ranging from cloud AI to their own custom-built AI systems to be able to review and assess the macro picture.

Marfo said: “The way AI is able to analyze x-ray, lab results, and images, is transformational. Things that you may have missed, if you were using your eye to study an x-ray or an MRI or a CT scan, the AI today is able to help identify all those things.”

On his part, Founder, Aduro Analytics, Dr. Afriyie Karikari Bempah, said some of the operational barriers, were mainly about having the AI being trained on local data and the protection of patient data.
“You’re not just looking at consequences that will affect reputation, but you’re also looking at lives. And in applying AI in healthcare, we are looking at very sensitive information that has to be protected.” Bempah said.

CEO, The Newmark Group, Mr. Gilbert Manirakiza, said to ensure that the data of patients and other stakeholders in healthcare is safe, is something very critical.

“I believe clinical institutions or even governments or ministries should build custom-made AI-powered platforms that can then be trained on the locally relevant data, because bias is a real and structurally significant issue, not just in healthcare, but across many other sectors,” Manirakiza said.