The AI healthcare map

The Healthcare Map provides a visual overview of AI initiatives in healthcare in Sweden's regions. The aim is to spread knowledge, foster collaboration and share experiences. Explore the map to discover how AI is contributing to the future of healthcare.

The mapping was carried out by AI Sweden, in collaboration with Halmstad University, and the design and development of Vårdkartan was done by Datastory, on behalf of AI Sweden.

Explore Vårdkartan

Vårdkartan is an interactive mapping that visualizes ongoing AI initiatives within Swedish healthcare. It provides an easily accessible overview for healthcare professionals, researchers, decision-makers, and the general public.

The purpose of Vårdkartan is to provide an overview of AI initiatives within Swedish healthcare, to disseminate knowledge, to promote collaboration, and to enable regions to inspire each other and avoid duplicating efforts.

Data was collected from June to December 2024 via AI Sweden's Regional Reference Group. The initiatives are categorized according to a framework based on the WHO's report on AI and health. The categorization of application areas and operations has been done by researchers at Halmstad University.

It is important to note that the map is a living document and is constantly evolving. Data may be missing from certain regions at present, but the work continues and updates are made continuously.

We encourage regions to share their AI initiatives. This can be done through a form available on the website vardkartan.ai.se.

This may be due to lack of time or the absence of internal mapping. Vårdkartan is under continuous development, and we encourage people to supplement with initiatives that are missing from the mapping or have started after the initial data collection.

AI Sweden has taken the initiative for the mapping within the framework of the innovation environment Information-driven healthcare, and the visualization has been carried out by Datastory.

The AI healthcare map provides a valuable overview of how AI is currently used within Swedish healthcare and can hopefully contribute to increased collaboration between regions, academia, and the private sector. It can also play an important role in informing and guiding authorities and politicians about ongoing initiatives, identifying areas where efforts are needed, and thereby creating better conditions for a strategic and needs-driven development of AI within healthcare.

Jens Nygren

Professor in health innovation, School of Health and Welfare, Halmstad University

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.

Lorna Bartram

AI Transformation Strategist - Healthcare

Report

The results from the mapping of AI-related healthcare projects across Sweden's regions are compiled in the report: Vårdkartan – En kartläggning av svenska regioners AI-initiativ inom vårdsektorn (available in Swedish).

Vårdkartan – En kartläggning av svenska regioners AI-initiativ inom vårdsektorn PDF, 7.53 MB

Recommendations for high-quality and equitable care for the whole population

Clear national guidelines

Strengthen successful initiatives

Competence development

Enhance existing structures

Promote cross-border cooperation

National ambition level

Success in AI requires competence, data, perseverance, and support from central management. We have built that over a long period in Region Halland. The work has meant that we were able to implement AI products early in the operation, starting with image diagnostics, but also use AI in business analysis for optimization of patient flows and other things. In addition, we can conduct AI-supported research on real data to learn more about, for example, patient risks. The combination is powerful.

Markus Lingman

Professor, Specialist Physician in Cardiology and Management Strategist in Region Halland

One success factor that I think is important is that the management at Sahlgrenska University Hospital early on, about 5 years ago, saw AI as a focus area and decided to invest in it. Anchoring it in the management has made it easier to free up resources while sending a signal throughout the hospital and externally that AI is important. One example where we have seen great benefits with AI in pilot projects is in fall prevention on wards where an AI solution has been able to reduce the number of falls by over 60%, which both saves resources but above all reduces suffering for patients.

Magnus Kjellberg

Head of the Center of Excellence for AI at Sahlgrenska University Hospital

The development of "Vårdkartan" (The AI healthcare map) has been made possible through co-financing from the European Regional Development Fund under the project "Increased national collaboration for accelerated use of AI in all industries" as well as co-financing from Vinnova through the projects "Information-driven healthcare" and "Use Case Factory".