Digitalisation and AI are experiencing rapid growth, but will this result in better health for all? Experts interviewed by Healthy Europe agree on the potential benefits, while emphasising that the transformation needs proper guidance.

Text: Dietmar Schobel

“Today’s health systems are actually sick systems. They are only designed to deal with diseases. This will have to change in the future,” says Ricardo Baptista Leite, CEO of HealthAI – The Global Agency for Responsible AI in Health. Bogi Eliasen, fellow at the Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies, takes a similar view: “We currently focus almost exclusively on the treatment of acute illnesses. Solidarity-based health systems will soon collapse entirely if this continues. In many cases, they have already reached breaking point – or even exceeded it. And so we need a complete mind shift towards the increased significance of prevention, screening and personalised treatment of chronic diseases.”

Today’s health systems are actually sick systems

RICARDO BAPTISTA LEITE, CEO OF HEALTHAI

Digitalisation and specifically artificial intelligence can and should make a key contribution towards this process of change, according to the European health experts asked by Healthy Europe. András Kulja, Member of the European Parliament and active on social media as a medfluencer, lists further benefits of digital applications: “They can simplify administration work, make it easier to access expert knowledge, and also provide support for doctors in their everyday working life, such as the use of robot-assisted surgery or tools for cancer diagnosis.” One aspect is always important, though: “The ultimate decision must be taken by a human at all times.”

Besides the potential for positive effects, digitalisation in the health sector and generally in society involves a large number of risks. Cyber-attacks that bring entire systems to a standstill and the misuse of data are just two examples here. Additionally, setting up digital systems and training staff can incur sizeable costs.

The digital gap

The digital gap is another topic of critical debate. People who are without the necessary hard- and software, those who cannot use it or cannot understand digital health information, are all disadvantaged by digitalisation. Existing health inequalities can grow even larger as a result. “The suitable funding should be utilised to counteract this, and above all we must take steps to ensure that children are already taught digital skills at school,” says András Kulja.

The ultimate decision must be taken by a human at all times.

ANDRÁS KULJA, MEMBER OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

Furthermore, digitalisation in the health sector can reduce health inequalities if it is steered in the right direction, emphasises Portuguese health expert Ricardo Baptista Leite. Ultimately, one key advantage of digital devices is that expert knowledge can be made available at any time and in any place, such as in video consultations and via AI systems: “This can be used to better reach vulnerable population groups. And that can be especially beneficial in low- and middle-income countries. Consider, for example, an African country where the nearest maternity clinic with specialists could be hundreds of kilometres from a village. Digital support enables a regional obstetrician to contact the clinic if they are dealing with a difficult birth – to name just one example.”

Equaliser or divider?

The aim of non-governmental organisation (NGO) HealthAI is in general to “promote the responsible governance of digitalisation in the health sector” and in particular to use artificial intelligence in this area to the best possible extent, while promoting “equitable access to AI-powered health innovations”. CEO Ricardo Baptista Leite points out: “We have reached a crossroads. AI has the capacity to be the biggest equaliser or the biggest divider in our health systems and also in our societies as a whole. If we continue as before, it will be the latter.” Therefore, HealthAI wants to provide states and regions with instruments and regulatory frameworks that do not prevent innovation and at the same time guide the application of AI in the health sector in a desirable direction.

The NGO is already supported by 33 government bodies from 25 countries and its Community of Practice includes a total of 370 institutional members from 74 countries. HealthAI is working to make an online directory available in 2026 where national regulations for the use of AI in the health sector will be freely accessible to all, in the interests of knowledge transfer. “In addition, we want to set up an early warning system that can be used to report when health is endangered on account of AI tools – for example, by publishing information that might become available about incorrect results from a system for screening lung cancer,” says Ricardo Baptista Leite.

The AI Act provides the framework

In August 2024 the European Union passed the world’s first multi-state legal framework for the use of AI: the AI Act. This specifies that in future Member States need to adhere to clear regulations for the use of “high-risk AI systems” that could create an exceptionally high risk to health, safety or fundamental rights. Moreover, the European Health Data Space is set to be operational by 2031, with key parts being applied in stages before that date. It will make the health data of EU citizens electronically available, and enable the safe cross-border exchange of digital information. Reusing health data for research and innovation is expected to accelerate as well.

And although the risks may be considerable, continued digitalisation and specifically the use of AI in the health sector still mainly present huge opportunities, according to the experts: “30 percent of people who are currently being treated in hospitals for acute problems should never have landed there in the first place. We have long possessed the necessary knowledge, thanks to prevention and screening. And digitalisation has given us the right technology. We just have to apply it properly,” explains Bogi Eliasen. “We have to curb the risks, invest in infrastructure, train the healthcare workforce and enhance digital competency among our citizens – then digitalisation will bring major improvements especially in the health sector as well,” says András Kulja.

And where will we be in ten years’ time? Ricardo Baptista Leite is certain that “anybody who says they know what can be expected from the AI sector in 2035 is not telling the truth. But if we steer the development in the right direction with the appropriate rules, it is bound to be positive.”