Revolutionizing Healthcare in the Middle East with the Power of AI

The swift adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a catalyst for transformative change in the healthcare industry, ushering in an era marked by innovation and heightened efficiency with its potential to impact patient care, diagnostics, and the broader spectrum of healthcare management. The Middle East healthcare sector is currently experiencing an integration of AI technologies, aiming to streamline processes, elevate diagnostic precision, and optimize resource utilization, stemming from the recent significant investments that have been made towards implementing AI to transform healthcare services

The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) established the Dubai Health Innovation Centre to drive innovation in healthcare technologies, including AI solutions. In Saudi Arabia, the government's commitment to enhancing digital health initiatives is evident through a dedicated allocation of SR180 billion (US$50.3 billion) for research and development in the healthcare sector. This investment encourages the widespread adoption of AI-driven diagnostics, precision medicine, and advanced medical devices in both the public and private sectors, aiming to improve accessibility, effectiveness, and transparency in the healthcare system.

Building a robust infrastructure for AI

With OpenAI's impactful launch of ChatGPT 3.5 in November 2022, the influence of generative AI and Large Language Models (LLMs) is set to define the path not just for computing but for virtually every industry and endeavor in the years to come. Now, instances of AI launches, innovations, and predictions are taking center stage in the daily news.

Simultaneously, consumers find themselves torn between desiring the benefits and being suspicious of the influence AI has on their personal and professional lives. Companies, in turn, are grappling with the decision to prohibit or fully embrace the potential of generative AI within their organizations. In a first-of-its-kind move, the Department of Health in Abu Dhabi, the healthcare sector regulator, released the region's first AI policy for the Emirate's healthcare sector in 2018, reflecting its endorsement and promotion of tailored AI technologies in Abu Dhabi's healthcare, which prioritizes patient safety by minimizing potential risks.

The AI wave is upon us, however, and it has the potential to greatly amplify efficiency and effectiveness. Three key layers take center stage as it continues to evolve in practically all aspects of our lives. While the first two are rapidly advancing, the third is now emerging and holds a pivotal significance in ensuring the success in the accuracy and effectiveness of AI adoption across industries.

• Traditional CPUs, forming the computing layer, no matter how potent, fall short in supporting deep learning models. To derive significant outcomes, AI with extensive parallel computing capabilities and bandwidth is imperative. This necessity becomes more apparent as Large Language Models (LLMs) grow in size and the parameters of their neural networks increase — for instance, GPT-4 boasts an astounding 1.7 trillion parameters.
• The layer of general intelligence, Large Language Models (LLM), is under construction by companies such as OpenAI, Anthropic, Microsoft, Google, Meta, Stability, and more. These extensive language models leverage billions to trillions of training points (tokens) extracted from the internet. Across industries, the pragmatic applications of general AI are poised to impact broad horizontal functions.
• The layer of vertical intelligence, where we anticipate the emergence of industry-specific tasks with AI, represents the third layer. This requires domain expertise and a foundation of top-notch, industry-specific data for effective operation. This aligns with our initiatives at Innovaccer, where we are dedicated to constructing and investing in the next-generation AI infrastructure for healthcare. This layer is beginning to shape the future landscape of AI in healthcare.

The organizations poised to provide their clientele the most effective industry-specific LLMs are equipped with a robust data infrastructure tailored to their particular industry. In the case of Innovaccer Middle East, healthcare is the focal point. Innovaccer has meticulously curated healthcare data for over 50 million people, a dataset trusted by clinicians, incorporating over 10 million clinical terminologies and adhering to 7,000 quality rules, one of the largest healthcare data infrastructures across the globe.

Apart from possessing an extensive healthcare dataset, healthcare AI demands an infrastructure that secures data quality, ownership, accuracy, security, compliance, and reliability. These prerequisites mirror the foundational standards for all activities on the Innovaccer platform—encompassing data analytics, data-driven decisions at the point of care, population health management, care coordination, healthcare CRM, risk adjustment, and various other aspects.

The evolution of AI infrastructure and innovation customized for the healthcare sector is a logical advancement for Innovaccer and its Middle East customers. With its extensive domain expertise and a robust collection of industry-specific data, the Innovaccer data platform is founded on a scalable data infrastructure that aligns seamlessly with vertical intelligence LLMs. The precision and reliability requirements demanded by the healthcare segment rule out the use of general AI, which can be prone to errors or subject to copyright claims. Our commitment is to empower customers to maximize the capabilities of generative AI, all while ensuring its ethical and trustworthy application.

Navigating the future of AI in healthcare

Businesses are in a race to create and embrace AI solutions and software that not only address current challenges of care but also future-proof the healthcare industry. One of the recent developments in this domain was the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (SEHA) and Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) for improving patient care and implementing patient-led services.

Innovaccer has been at the forefront of developing innovative healthcare technologies that can transform healthcare, and our active engagement with our Middle East colleagues prompted us to think about the key questions for developing our AI solution suite to transform the region’s healthcare landscape.

Key considerations for Innovaccer’s healthcare AI development

The first question we asked was: “How can our AI suite streamline tasks that stakeholders currently perform manually and often in a time-consuming manner?” This question resulted in the initiation of our endeavor to identify, invest in, and address the AI whitespace—tasks that we anticipate can be facilitated by AI in the next five years.

Next, we wondered: "What responsibilities does a physician bear, and how can we ease their administrative burden?" These tasks can include ambient listening documentation and coding, vital for payment purposes, where doctors shouldn’t be investing their time. If AI could take on these responsibilities, wouldn't it significantly enhance physicians' satisfaction?

Through our AI suite, Innovaccer aspires to assist everyone in performing at the highest level and alleviate the challenges posed by digital paperwork, which presently occupies a substantial amount of their time. Hence, we considered the next question: “How can we facilitate convenient access to the necessary information and insights, be it at the point of care or in the realm of business operations?”

And we posed the question, "How can we support care coordinators?" Caregivers engaged in voice calls are required to transcribe, generate action items, devise care plans, and handle similar duties. These tasks are undeniably crucial but not the ones that care coordinators find joy in. What if these tasks could be automated, granting them more time for meaningful patient interactions?

We also contemplated the role of data analysts. “How many truly enjoy navigating through countless dashboards to decipher the PMPM for a cohort and population?” Imagine if they could simplify the inquiries and receive immediate answers.

And last but not least, we asked, “How can we bring back the JOY OF CARE?” Given the challenges of healthcare, care providers are under immense pressure, which has diminished the satisfaction associated with the joy of caring and healing people.

Introducing Sara, an AI for healthcare at the point-of-care, pioneered in the Middle East

Sara, a unique AI-driven suite of healthcare solutions, is set to transform patient care, enhance financial performance, improve population health, and foster improved engagement with consumers. Fueled by top-notch data from over 50 million patients, this platform aspires to define the era of integrated workflows powered by AI.

Innovaccer’s dedication to the Middle East is clear as it pioneers the creation of the most expansive vertical AI infrastructure designed in the region. Priority tasks in the Middle East involve the verticalization of AI specifically tailored for healthcare. The requirement is for AI exclusively trained in healthcare, which is its central focus in this evolutionary process: crafting and providing proprietary models adept at comprehending thousands of healthcare entities, concepts, formulas, and disease conditions. The goal is to establish healthcare AI that inspires confidence built on a supportive platform dedicated to healthcare.

Looking ahead to a future with enhanced productivity

Based on the current industry perspective, AI is set to impact healthcare substantially. The four Sara AI solutions are just the tip of the iceberg as Innovaccer assimilates various data sources and applies analytics to shape intelligent, cohesive, and compelling workflows. We foresee a multitude of tasks within healthcare that AI can address, surpassing the scope of our initial four tools.

Innovaccer’s dedication entails continuous investment and development as we advance in this whitespace with AI solutions precisely tailored for healthcare. As a result, we are set to design more AI products with our industry-acknowledged data platform as a sturdy infrastructure base. Pioneering this approach, we are exploring every avenue where healthcare AI can boost productivity, diminish routine tasks, and alleviate burnout.

When we look five years ahead, we envision existing in a significantly altered world—where numerous tasks we currently find arduous may become obsolete. The very essence of work is on the verge of a redefinition. We welcome input from providers, payers, and life sciences companies regarding such tasks that could benefit from the assistance of a healthcare-oriented Sara AI. The objective is to identify activities that distract our stakeholders from their passion—patient care—and determine how a healthcare-trained vertical AI model can undertake those responsibilities on their behalf.

The launch of Sara for healthcare is a pivotal moment that signifies a new paradigm. It will characterize the realm of AI in healthcare, encompassing the delivery of superior care, influencing the trajectory of healthcare costs, and fortifying the financial resilience of healthcare organizations.

Register now to be a part of this significant launch at Arab Health 2024, indicate your interest in the product showcase session, and get a personalized demo of Sara.