Inaugural AI and Digital Health Lab event explored how artificial intelligence (AI) can be better integrated into health policymaking
By Mr George Wigmore (Senior Communications Officer), Published
International and national experts convened at City St George’s, University of London for the inaugural in-person event of the AI and Digital Health Lab, which explored the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in health policymaking. The event, titled “What can we learn about AI in health policy making? Evidence and insights from decision-makers”, featured viewpoints from leading voices in public health, economics, international policy and digital transformation.
Held on 6 May, the panel event gathered specialists from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Health Foundation, and World Health Organization (WHO Europe).
Organised and moderated by Dr Divya Srivastava, founder and lead of the AI and Digital Health Lab in the Centre for Healthcare Innovation Research at City St George's, the discussion focused on using AI responsibly and effectively, with an emphasis on evidence-based policymaking and international collaboration.
AI for evidence synthesis
Opening the panel, Dr Michael Borowitz of UKHSA shared how in public health, UKHSA is using AI for evidence synthesis. UKHSA produces a large volume of guidance, and Dr Borowitz said that AI supports UKHSA activities as a guidance checker for public health interventions including immunisation. Other important areas include rapid evidence synthesis.
This reflects a growing trend in public health, where AI tools are increasingly deployed to support evidence synthesis and analysis, allowing policymakers to act on high-quality data faster and more efficiently.
Need for rigorous evaluation
Dr Tim Horton of the Health Foundation then expanded on some of these points in a talk on AI and productivity. He discussed the importance of benefits realisation with regards to AI and how specific use cases, such as ambient voice technology, are improving our understanding of the benefits AI could deliver.
International collaboration
The panel also turned to international efforts to align AI standards and address disparities in adoption.
Mr Rishub Keelara from the OECD discussed international initiatives, focusing in particular on how OECD member countries are working and discussing in international forums their challenges with AI. He said that Hong Kong is an example where this has happened successfully with regards to policymaking and implementation in health and that many OECD countries are leading efforts to assess and adopt AI in health systems such as Spain (Catalunya), Norway, Estonia, and Korea.
Mr Keyrellous Adib from WHO Europe then described how WHO member countries are looking for capacity support with regards to AI. He added that they are at very different stages with regards to understanding AI and how to support its implementation.
A way forward
Moderated by Dr Divya Srivastava, the panel concluded with a clear call for clarity, collaboration, and caution.
“The UK has made progress when we think about trying to understand AI with regards to evidence standards but also how to compare economic evidence and evaluation in a rigorous way,” said Dr Srivastava. “The functionality of the AI and its level of risk should be explicit at the outset.”
“We had a successful turnout and an engaged audience. I am very grateful to the speakers for sharing their insights. As a health economist and health policy analyst, I enjoyed the opportunity to share perspectives. It is important to think about evidence and evidence generation in AI to understand its impact on users. The AI and Digital Health Lab will continue to be part of this conversation.”
The event marked a key milestone in the development of the AI and Digital Health Lab at City St George’s, reinforcing its role as a hub for thought leadership, policy development, and collaborative learning in the field of AI, economics and health technology.
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