Artificial Intelligence: Key to Future Sustainability in Healthcare Systems

This article was exclusively written for The European Sting by Mr. Antonio Jonas Matos, a medical student at the Federal University of Ceará, Brazil. He is affiliated with the International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA), cordial partner of The Sting. The opinions expressed in this piece belong strictly to the writer and do not necessarily reflect IFMSA’s view on the topic, nor The European Sting’s one.

The term “sustainable” can be defined as the ability to sustain, maintain, or even defend oneself. The latter definition is the most appropriate when thinking about healthcare systems, as it is increasingly necessary for them to defend themselves against unprecedented challenges such as major economic crises, devastating pandemics, and conflicts and natural disasters with the potential to destroy entire countries. In this context, artificial intelligence (AI) emerges as a crucial tool to promote sustainability in the healthcare systems of the future, given its rapid learning ability and predictive capabilities.

The use of AI mechanisms is gradually becoming more widespread, spanning from businesses to educational institutions, contributing in various ways to ensuring efficiency. In this sense, it is easy to see how AI systems have rapidly gained social acceptance and practical application, also demonstrating their accelerated learning capability—an essential skill when considering the numerous variables to which healthcare systems are subjected. For example, with climate change, extreme weather events will become more frequent, requiring quick action from healthcare managers, which can be expedited with the appropriate and responsible use of AI.

Moreover, it is essential to understand that the use of AI has the ability to efficiently unify medical data and procedures within a healthcare system, facilitating the storage of large volumes of information, scheduling, and management of professionals. This capability allows for a systematic analysis of a healthcare system and efficient forecasting of future demands and needs. This potential to reduce healthcare costs and strengthen healthcare systems during crises that may lead to the loss of records is crucial. Such characteristics are important in building sustainable healthcare systems, capable of defending themselves and prioritizing, above all, patient well-being.

However, it is evident that numerous ethical issues arise when considering the use of AI in the management and support of healthcare systems, as there are concerns regarding patient privacy, oversight, and, of course, the risk of mechanization and dehumanization of healthcare services in general. Nonetheless, thinking that these issues will prevent the use of AI as a tool for improving healthcare services is to blind oneself to the future; these obstacles should be addressed by regulatory systems.

Therefore, to envision sustainable healthcare systems in the future that offer improvements to health services, it is necessary to consider how technology will aid in this process. Certainly, the employment of AI in healthcare systems is one of the main means to keep them strong and capable of navigating imminent crises.

About the author

Antonio Jonas Matos is a medical student at the Federal University of Ceará, Brazil. His commitment and interest in human rights are evident through his role as Local Officer on Human Rights and Peace Director (LORP-D) in his local committee IFMSA Brazil UFC-Fortaleza. He is particularly interested in the homeless population, indigenous communities, broad access to healthcare, and research. He finds peace and inspiration through art in his leisure time, considering dialogue and interaction between people as the greatest expression of humanity.