In a significant stride towards enhancing emergency care, healthcare professionals in New South Wales are increasingly integrating artificial intelligence (AI) technologies into their practices. This initiative aims to improve patient outcomes at Sydney’s Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, where Dr. Michael Dinh leads a dedicated team focused on innovation in emergency medicine. With 25 years of experience at the hospital, Dr. Dinh’s efforts are complemented by ongoing research conducted by Professor Farah Magrabi, a leading expert in Biomedical and Health Informatics at Macquarie University.
These are the early days of AI making its mark in healthcare. Today, it’s being utilized for everything from clinical documentation to treatment summaries and referrals. Dr. Dinh emphasizes the potential of these technologies, stating, “It just draws in data from a patient’s medical record and it puts it into an algorithm that we developed here at RPA.” The algorithm helps medical teams identify patients who are at greatest risk for declining health sooner. In return, the quality of patient care is vastly improved.
In looking ahead, Dr. Dinh recognizes his field’s unprecedentedly positive prospects. He warns we might need a few more years before it’s fully implemented. “If we need to have an interpretation of a CAT scan, for instance, within seconds of a patient coming in, that’s where I see AI coming into play in the future,” he noted. This viewpoint clearly highlights the need for continued human oversight and intervention in potentially life-changing healthcare decisions.
Vice Dean of Research at UniSA Professor Magrabi’s work is critical in determining the clinical safety and effectiveness of these emerging AI technologies. She points out that where AI really shines is in picking out abnormalities at incredible speed, such as identifying tumors in CAT scans using pattern recognition. Human translators are key to making sure communication is accurate and helpful. “For some language groups, for example the European languages, the level of accuracy is much higher but for many of the new and emerging and refugee languages, the accuracy is actually quite poor,” commented Lisa Woodland, Director of New South Wales Multicultural Health. She believes that without human translators who understand cultural nuances, health communications may do more harm than good in sensitive healthcare settings.
Dr. Dinh describes the high-pressure environment of emergency departments, noting that “they’re extremely busy places as everyone knows.” In this scenario, AI tools are used to lessen the friction. These tools are purposely built to hide in the shadows. An audience member takes part in a consultation, collecting important discussion points. They then write up a draft for the clinician to edit and use in their documentation, to describe what they’re seeing,” explained Professor Magrabi.
Through the unique collaboration of healthcare professionals and generative AI technology, clinicians will be able to unlock previously unimaginable decision-making capabilities while delivering superior patient outcomes. As Professor Magrabi puts it, “AI is rapidly being developed and implemented throughout the healthcare system in Australia. There’s tons of potential in seeking out new solutions to break down silos and move the needle on improving patient care. aligns beautifully with Dr. Dinh’s objectives at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. There, the innovation extends to increasing the quality of care provided.
The introduction of AI goes beyond workflow efficiency to specifically tackle challenges in multicultural health. Woodland highlights the need for culturally sensitive communication and engagement when sharing health information. This unique combination of technology and human expertise helps to fill communication gaps, especially for patients who come from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds.
