AI has potential to cut back inequity in Philippine healthcare

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A survey conducted by PwC Philippines in partnership with MAP showed that 40% of the CEOs within the country said that they’ve already adopted generative artificial intelligence (GenAI). — REUTERS/DADO RUVIC/ILLUSTRATION

By Patricia B. Mirasol, Producer

Depending on the way it’s designed, artificial intelligence (AI) may have the opportunity to cut back inequities in Philippine healthcare, in accordance with medical examiners on the AI Horizons PH 2024 event. 

“We should always…discover recent ways to implement what we already know,” said Dr. Antonio Miguel L. Dans, professor emeritus of the University of the Philippines (UP) Manila’s College of Medicine.  

AI isn’t just for the wealthy, he said on day two of the conference by the University of the Philippines Bonifacio Global City. 

“We are able to increase the likelihood of reducing inequities…depending on how we design it,” he said on October 25. 

In its Ethics and governance of artificial intelligence for health: Guidance on large multi-modal models, the World Health Organization highlighted the importance of developing AI technologies in a way that addresses biases, so health inequities aren’t perpetuated. 

The rules, published in January 2024, also said AI technologies needs to be made accessible and inexpensive to all, particularly to probably the most vulnerable.  

“Let’s focus our research on narrowing the gap by discovering recent ways of doing old things, like Efren, which is a brand new way of…checking on our patient,” Dr. Dans said. 

If that might be done for those with less, then it’s something that may actually help bridge the gap,” he added. 

Efren is a chatbot that assesses diabetes distress (or the emotional response of living with diabetes) amongst Filipino patients. 

Diabetes distress can result in opposed outcomes like reduced physical activity and fewer healthy eating, in accordance with Dr. Iris Thiele Isip-Tan, professor 12 of UP Manila-College of Medicine’s Medical Informatics Unit. 

“I do know firsthand that physicians could have limited time to evaluate diabetes distress,” said Dr. Tan, whose team is designing the conversational agent. 

“Patients can also not be expected to ask – nor want to discuss – their emotional state,” she said at the identical event. 

For the diabetes distress scale, furthermore, “there are actual questions on the physician like ‘Do you’re feeling that your doctor doesn’t take your concerns seriously enough?’” 

Underpinning all AI endeavors comparable to Efren is data, a component of the Genomics Philippines Initiative, which can sequence the genomes of 25,000 Filipinos by 2030. 

Filipinos need their very own database with their very own genomes represented, in accordance with Dr. Felicitas L. Lacbawan, executive director of the Philippine Genome Center (PGC). 

This, she said, will allow for a more precise and accurate interpretation of their test results. 

“The PGC is taking baby steps in transforming laboratory services towards accessible, inexpensive…genomics testing for Filipinos,” she told the audience of the October 25 event. 

“If we will drive cost of sequencing down, we’re joyful with it,” Dr. Lacbawan added. 

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