JKNewsMedia
ONLY 8% OF countries in the Who Health Organization (WHO) European Region have a health specific Artificial Intelligence Strategy (AIS), despite nearly two thirds already deploying AI in diagnostics and half using AI powered patient chatbots.
JKNewsMedia.com reports that the gap between Artificial Intelligence (AI) deployment and responsible governance is emerging as a defining challenge for health systems, with countries adopting technology that is reshaping healthcare and medicine without equivalent strategies to regulate its use.
WHO Europe recently completed what it described as the most comprehensive assessment of AI readiness across its 53 Member States.
The assessment found that 98% of Member States identified improving patient care as the primary driver for AI adoption.
AI is already producing benefits for patients.
In Coimbra, Portugal, AI powered image analysis is helping clinicians identify thoracic diseases and bone fractures faster, reducing waiting times in primary care and emergency settings.
However, governance remains a concern across the Region.
Only one in five countries provides AI education for health professionals before they qualify, while only one in four offers such training after professionals enter the workforce.
Fewer than half have assessed whether their legal frameworks are suitable for AI, while almost 40% still have no ethical guidance on its use in health.
The risks of allowing governance to fall behind deployment could have direct consequences for patients and health workers.
A biased algorithm can produce a wrong diagnosis, while health workers who are trained to trust AI systems they cannot interrogate may face mistakes outside their control. Such failures can also erode public trust in health systems.
Three areas have been identified as critical to addressing the gap.
Countries deploying AI in health need strategies, liability standards and training for the workforce using the technology. Cooperation between countries is also needed to develop approaches that respond to their practical needs.
WHO has brought 37 countries together in Lisbon, representing all six WHO regions, to find common ground and hear what countries need to make AI in health a reality for everyone.
The Portuguese speaking community also has a specific role to play.
Portugal, Angola, Brazil, Mozambique and their partners share decades of institutional relationships, academic exchange and technical cooperation.
Those relationships form the foundation for a Lusophone Cooperation Roadmap on AI and Health, which is intended to be launched at the Regional Health Summit in Brazil in 2028.
The future of AI in health will depend on the frameworks, partnerships and political will developed now to ensure the technology serves everyone, rather than only countries and communities with the resources to shape it independently.
The work begins in Lisbon, where countries are seeking common ground on how AI can be deployed responsibly across health systems.
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