Presentation of the Smart Health training programme, focusing on Big Data and Artificial Intelligence

On April 21, the Smart Health training programme, promoted by Merck, in collaboration with IBM and the University of Navarra, was officially announced. The programme focuses on the digital transformation brought about by the impact of technologies such as Big Data and Artificial Intelligence on the biomedical sector, and aims to strengthen the digital competencies of healthcare professionals and administrators in order to lead the transformation and improvement of healthcare in the future.

The event featured two round table discussions and was opened by Salvador Estevan, Director General of Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation. The first session focused on the impact of Artificial Intelligence in healthcare administration, and was led by Pablo Serrano, Director of Planning at the Hospital 12 d’Octubre, and the second focused on digital solutions that can be applied to the healthcare system using Artificial Intelligence, and was led by the director of the Department of Artificial Intelligence of the TIC Salut Social Foundation and head of the Artificial Intelligence Programme of Catalonia, Carlos Gallego, and the head of IBM Health, Juan Carlos Sánchez.

In his talk, Gallego shared some insights on how to incorporate artificial intelligence in the field of healthcare, highlighting the importance of handling public opinion with care with respect to news items that often appear in the media and on social networks on this subject. In this sense, he highlighted three essential points for applying an artificial intelligence based solution: the need for quality data, the need to take into account the complexity of the healthcare system and the regulation of this area. He also stressed the importance of cultivating the trust of professionals and of the general public with regard to this technology: “We must be transparent when explaining the artificial intelligence technologies we are applying for the benefit of the general public. And for this to work, we must find a way to explain it clearly and in layman’s terms”, concluded Gallego.

The event was brought to a close by Amparo Puente, Deputy Director of Administration and Finances and European Funds at Red.es.