HIQA launches national framework shaping AI use in private healthcare

Ireland’s healthcare regulatory landscape is entering a new phase as the Health Information and Quality Authority has launched a six-week public consultation on draft national guidance for the responsible and safe use of artificial intelligence in health and social care services.

Commissioned by the Department of Health and underpinned by a dedicated evidence review, the guidance sets out a framework that will influence how AI tools are developed, procured and deployed across the healthcare system, including private hospitals, clinics, diagnostics providers and care services.

The draft guidance is built around four core principles: accountability, a human rights-based approach, safety and wellbeing, and responsiveness.

Its stated aim is to promote consistent good practice while ensuring that AI enhances care delivery without undermining patient safety, transparency or trust. Importantly, it also seeks to educate people using services on what they should expect when AI systems form part of their care pathway.

AI is already being used within Irish healthcare to support diagnostics, streamline administrative workloads and assist with clinical decision-making. Examples include pattern recognition in imaging and laboratory results, predictive analytics to support preventative care, and digital tools that reduce the burden of clinical note-taking.

Rachel Flynn, HIQA’s director of health information and standards, said: “The draft national guidance for the responsible and safe use of AI in health and social care services has been developed against the backdrop of a dynamic and evolving AI landscape.”

“Innovative solutions are needed to meet the challenges in our health and social care system, and AI is a promising tool that can be integrated to help address some of these challenges,” Flynn added.

Follow the details and access the full guidance by reading the complete story.