Resolution creating of the Programme for the Promotion and Development of Artificial Intelligence in the Health System

The Official Gazette of the Government of Catalonia has published Resolution SLT/954/2023 of 19 March, creating the Programme for the Promotion and Development of Artificial Intelligence in the Health System.

According to the document, the purpose of the Health/AI Programme is to create an enabling environment for innovation in the field of health through the development and implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) solutions to improve citizens’ health, which prioritises prevention, leads the implementation of AI solutions and contributes to improving the quality of care and the sustainability of the health system, making use of the knowledge generated by Catalonia’s comprehensive health system for public use (SISCAT).

Functions of the Health/AI Programme

The functions of the Health/AI Programme detailed in the resolution are as follows:

• Boosting the AI ecosystem in health by promoting research, development and innovation that aids knowledge transfer to SISCAT to increase SISCAT’s capacity to develop AI.
• Establishing the adoption of innovation as a key point for the implementation of AI that makes progress towards establishing assessment methodologies on a clinical, ethical, legal and technological scale to give a seal of guaranteed safety to solutions before they are implemented in SISCAT. Verification of the algorithms’ functioning and impact must be carried out by a team of professionals who are experts in different fields of knowledge.
• Promoting improved efficiency of SISCAT by developing AI solutions on a systemic scale to optimise people’s wellbeing, provided the assessment criteria that guarantee the solutions’ reliability are met.
• Ensuring AI serves the public interest and the creation of long-term public value, while avoiding the promotion of suboptimal technology.
• Aiding the strategic alignment of all of those involved, responding to SISCAT’s global policies and priorities defined in the Catalan Health Plan.
• Ensuring that progress is made with the processes of recruitment and incorporation of AI in the health sector and establishing a broader vision of AI that allows for innovative systems of public value.
• Encouraging the participation and involvement of Catalonia’s entire health system to ensure a substantial improvement in the quality of information and the achievement of results with a greater impact on the entire system with dedicated resources.
• Promoting equity, guaranteeing access to the solutions developed by the entire Catalan health system, avoiding inequalities between centres and standardising care quality.
• Encouraging collaboration between the public and private sectors to create an innovation ecosystem capable of supporting and making progress with the health sector’s challenges.

Governance

The governance of the Health/AI Programme will consist of a Steering Committee, an Executive Committee and the Programme Management. The members of the three bodies will be senior representatives of the Department of Health, the Catalan Health Service, the Strategic Management of the Departmental Commission for Innovation and Transformation of the Health System, the General Coordination of ICT in the Health System, the Health Quality and Assessment Agency (AQuAS) and the TIC Salut Social Foundation.

The programme will last a maximum of three years. For more information, see the resolution through this link.