Comment: Why health and care technology infrastructure must be ensured before AI can be used

Tony Blair recently opened the Future of Britain conference with a speech which centred on governing in the age of AI. Key to this speech was examining how a radical rethink of the system, and embracing generative AI technology, among others, can help to address the high tax, heavy debt and poor outcomes.  

Part of this focus was on health and how, with a bold approach to embracing technology, “For the first time, a healthcare system geared to prevention rather than cure is within our grasp”.

In response to this, Patti Wynn, Chief Health & Care Strategy Officer for Tunstall Healthcare, explains why the UK Government need to ensure health and care technology infrastructure before the potential of AI can be used.

“Tony Blair is right to bring the issue of preventative care to the fore in his speech today. We share his ambition for bold action in this area and we recognise and embrace the potential of AI to support this.

“But, before we can begin to realise the potential, we first need to sure up our health and care technology infrastructure. AI is essentially predicated on an established digital infrastructure being in place to drive insights that can actually lead to interventions that help people. And right now, in the UK across the health and care landscape, many remain in early stages of digitalisation.

“At Tunstall we use technology to support people independently in their homes. With analogue infrastructure, we are able to react to the needs of a vulnerable individual, but with digital technology and the potential of AI, we will be able to move toward predicting when something bad might happen to an individual and intervene to make a more positive outcome—potentially before the catastrophic event occurs.

“We are already utilising our local call centres to spot issues for vulnerable individuals before they become problems— as the infrastructure matures, potentially becoming the command centre of the home.

“We need government to act to invest in this baseline digital infrastructure first and foremost. It is only than that radical change, supported by AI can become a reality.”

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