Why healthcare’s AI future requires patient leadership Donna R. Cryer highlights that AI is rapidly entering healthcare without sufficient patient involvement in its governance, risking the exclusion of those most affected. She advocates for formal patient leadership roles and patient-centric design to ensure AI implementation truly benefits patients and improves healthcare outcomes. Cryer emphasizes that failing to involve patients in AI development and decision-making will lead to missed opportunities and potentially harmful, misaligned systems.

• AI is entering healthcare at a pace that risks outpacing necessary governance structures.
• Hospitals, payers, pharma, and digital health are introducing AI without sufficiently involving patients.
• Patient engagement in AI governance is crucial to avoid repeating past mistakes of excluding patients from major decisions.
• Patient involvement in clinical trials and healthcare innovation has consistently shown to improve outcomes.
• Many healthcare organizations are deploying AI without consistent governance or intentional patient representation.
• Patients are already using AI for healthcare decisions, indicating a need for their integration into AI design.
• AI adoption is driven by operational pressures like workforce shortages and financial strain.
• Cryer proposes formalizing patient leadership through roles like a ‘Chief Patient Officer’ to integrate patient experience into strategy and decision-making.
• AI systems should be evaluated based on measurable improvements in patient outcomes, not just operational metrics.
• The future of AI in healthcare depends on whether patients are given a seat at the table before AI infrastructure becomes permanent. Continue reading https://foxvector.com/articles/14013a2b-d5fa-446a-949d-c4c2b73f3e1f