New report: Significant inequality in regions' AI efforts in healthcare

The rapid technological development in AI has not yet had a broad impact in healthcare. Of the 179 mapped initiatives, only 24 (13 percent) have been fully implemented. This relatively low percentage suggests that AI applications in healthcare are still in an early stage.

Healthcare faces major challenges in the coming years. According to the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SKR), the number of people aged 80 or older is expected to increase by almost 50 percent by 2031. At the same time, the demand for personnel in healthcare is expected to increase by almost ten percent, also according to SKR's calculations.

Focus on diagnostics and administrative processes

The mapping has been conducted by AI Sweden, Sweden's national centre for applied AI, in collaboration with Halmstad University. 

Most AI initiatives are in diagnostics and prediction, accounting for 41 percent of all identified initiatives. This is in line with global trends where AI is being used for imaging diagnostics, for example for the interpretation of X-ray and MRI images.

Another major area is initiatives to manage and streamline administrative processes - 30 percent of initiatives concern management and planning. This includes, for example, support for text-based tasks such as medical record writing, masking of sensitive data, and support for scheduling.

In summary, the results show that AI in Swedish healthcare is currently mainly in data-driven specialities such as radiology and pathology and for administrative purposes. In contrast, application in primary care, psychiatry and prevention is limited, despite the fact that these areas have great potential to benefit from AI to improve early detection, prioritisation and care planning.

Large differences between regions

The regions in Sweden with the most initiatives are Västra Götaland Region, Region Halland, Region Skåne, Region Östergötland, and Region Stockholm. These five account for over 60 percent of all AI initiatives in the country.

The large differences risk affecting equality in healthcare. Therefore, efforts are needed at the national level to ensure that we can realize the value of AI in healthcare and ensure that no one is left behind.

“Vårdkartan contributes to an understanding of which regions and healthcare providers have already come a long way – now we need to continue investing and create incentives to spread successful solutions and working methods to more. Collaboration and collective investments are key here. It is also of great importance that healthcare can receive clear national guidelines on specific central challenges linked to patient safety and the application of relevant legislation that currently hinders innovation and application,” says Lorna Bartram.  

Vårdkartan is intended to be a dynamic resource that is continuously updated with new AI initiatives. The goal is to make it easier for actors in healthcare to gain insight into ongoing initiatives and create opportunities for collaboration and exchange of experience.

Explore the map at vardkartan.ai.se and read the conclusions in the report (only avaliable in Swedish).

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