How might Al help the global clinician workforce?
Start Date
21-2-2025 10:50 AM
End Date
21-2-2025 11:20 AM
Description
There is a global healthcare crisis with issues in affordability, access, and quality. Despite increased technology use, expected benefits have not been realized due to the complexity of care and poor design and implementation. Moreover, the healthcare workforce is stretched thin, over-worked, and has degraded wellbeing. Burnout rates of clinicians are alarming in most countries. The factors contributing to clinician burnout are multifactorial, complex and vary by country. In the US, a key contributor to clinician burnout is the increasing burden of computer use.
Al has the potential to improve healthcare quality, safety, clinician well-being, and reduce costs. However, poorly designed To reduce clinician burnout, Al must be Al can worsen patient safety and clinician designed with human-centered design well-being. Improper design of Al user (HCD) focusing on the needs of clinicians interfaces may lead to unintended errors and patients. Social scientists and human and patient harm, particularly during factors professionals are crucial in this human-Al interactions in time-sensitive, high-risk settings. Al models can contain systemic biases, resulting in care inequities. Over-reliance on Al can cause deskilling and misplaced trust, leading to serious errors. Automation bias has already caused adverse events in aviation and driving, with similar emerging issues in healthcare. Additionally, Al accuracy can deteriorate over time due to changes in patient populations, policies, and data capture methods. process. Key design elements include enhanced trust and transparency, clear communication of Al uncertainty, support for clinician and patient autonomy, and robust infrastructure to address Al technical, social, and ethical issues.
Speaker
Prof Matthew WEINGER
Professor of Anesthesiology, Biomedical Informatics, and Medical Education, School of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, USA
Dr. Weinger is an internationally recognized physician scientist and human factors engineer. He holds the Norman Ty Smith Chair in Patient Safety and Medical Simulation and is a Professor at Vanderbilt University in Anesthesiology, Biomedical Informatics, Medical Education, and Civil and Environmental Engineering. For nearly four decades, Dr. Weinger has conducted research in human factors engineering, patient safety, and clinical decision making. He has received numerous prestigious awards, including from the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES), the Society for Technology in Anesthesia, and the Association for the Advancement in Medical Instrumentation. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and of the HFES.
He has published over 200 research articles (cited more than 5400 times) and served on nearly 70 funded projects (15 as principal investigator). Dr. Weinger has mentored over 100 students and junior faculty and delivered over 250 invited presentations worldwide. Dr. Weinger also served on the Board on Human Systems integration of the US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) and was a member of the NASEM Committee that wrote the seminal 2019 book, Taking Action Against Clinician Burnout: A Systems Approach to Professional Well-Being.
Co-author(s)
Megan E. SALWEI, PhD
Document Type
Keynote speech
Recommended Citation
Weinger, M. (2025, February 21). How might Al help the global clinician workforce? Keynote speech presented at the International Conference and Workshop on Health and Well-being in the Digital Era. Lingnan University, Hong Kong.
How might Al help the global clinician workforce?
There is a global healthcare crisis with issues in affordability, access, and quality. Despite increased technology use, expected benefits have not been realized due to the complexity of care and poor design and implementation. Moreover, the healthcare workforce is stretched thin, over-worked, and has degraded wellbeing. Burnout rates of clinicians are alarming in most countries. The factors contributing to clinician burnout are multifactorial, complex and vary by country. In the US, a key contributor to clinician burnout is the increasing burden of computer use.
Al has the potential to improve healthcare quality, safety, clinician well-being, and reduce costs. However, poorly designed To reduce clinician burnout, Al must be Al can worsen patient safety and clinician designed with human-centered design well-being. Improper design of Al user (HCD) focusing on the needs of clinicians interfaces may lead to unintended errors and patients. Social scientists and human and patient harm, particularly during factors professionals are crucial in this human-Al interactions in time-sensitive, high-risk settings. Al models can contain systemic biases, resulting in care inequities. Over-reliance on Al can cause deskilling and misplaced trust, leading to serious errors. Automation bias has already caused adverse events in aviation and driving, with similar emerging issues in healthcare. Additionally, Al accuracy can deteriorate over time due to changes in patient populations, policies, and data capture methods. process. Key design elements include enhanced trust and transparency, clear communication of Al uncertainty, support for clinician and patient autonomy, and robust infrastructure to address Al technical, social, and ethical issues.