Ireland’s Health Service Executive is in the process of establishing a working group to formulate a framework for the application of artificial intelligence in the health service, Pulse+IT has learned.

The HSE has confirmed that the membership and terms of reference for the working group are currently being finalised, with Tom Laffan, director for corporate services and integrated information service at the HSE Technology and Transformation (formerly known as eHealth) division, understood to be leading the initiative.

It is expected that the group’s deliberation will last approximately six months, culminating in clear criteria for the safe delivery and use of AI across the HSE.

While AI is already embedding itself in various parts of the service, there is as yet no formal collective plan on how the technology can and should be applied in HSE services.

The national digital health strategy, Digital for Care – A Digital Health Framework for Ireland 2024-2030, states that the “ethical use of AI technologies, based off strong data and digital infrastructure, has the potential to revolutionise how healthcare is provided in the future”.

However, the framework states that while AI can be deployed to support clinical decision making for diagnostic precision and powering medical devices for improved treatment, “the role of AI is to support the healthcare professional who remains the final arbitrator in decisions directly related to patient care and treatment”.

The HSE has also established an AI and Automation Centre of Excellence. The centre will be an expansion of the Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Centre of Excellence, which was established to oversee RPA projects, identify opportunities for applicability, and to provide centralised governance to ensure best practice coding and security standards.