Artificial intelligence can help healthcare systems cope with a projected global shortage of healthcare professionals by automating routine work, improving clinical workflows and enabling doctors to treat more patients, senior executives at Dutch health technology company Philips said.
Healthcare systems worldwide are expected to face a shortage of around 10 million healthcare professionals by 2030, creating growing pressure on hospitals grappling with ageing populations, rising rates of chronic disease and increasing demand for care.
“Current projections estimate a shortage of around 10 million healthcare professionals by 2030. There is simply no realistic way to recruit our way out of that problem,” Patrick Mans, Philips’ Global Head of Data and AI, told journalists at the company’s Innovation Center - Best Campus in Eindhoven.
“AI will play a critical role in helping healthcare move forward,” he said. “We shouldn’t fear AI. We should embrace it.”
Mans said Philips distinguishes between traditional AI models used in clinical settings and newer generative and agentic AI technologies.
“For clinical applications, such as detecting abnormalities in medical images, we continue to rely on traditional AI models that are highly predictable and extensively validated,” he said. “Clinical AI cannot hallucinate. It must consistently produce reliable results.”
He said generative AI and AI agents are currently being deployed primarily in non-clinical workflows while regulators develop frameworks for their use in patient care.
Autonomous AI agents could automate administrative functions including prior authorisations, claims processing, scheduling and billing, cutting overhead costs by up to 50 per cent and saving the healthcare industry more than USD 250 billion, as per a BCG report. The report also projects that processes taking seven days today could be completed in roughly seven hours, with early adopters gaining a 15 per cent to 20 per cent cost advantage over peers.
“Regulatory authorities around the world are still determining how best to regulate generative AI in clinical environments. For that reason, these technologies are currently used mainly in non-clinical workflows, while traditional, clinically validated AI continues to be used for direct patient care,” Mans said.
Philips said AI is already helping automate clinical workflows, improve image quality, shorten scan times and reduce administrative workloads, allowing healthcare professionals to spend more time with patients.
The company cited findings from its Future Health Index survey showing that 71 per cent of healthcare professionals reported workflow improvements through AI, while around half said the technology was already allowing them to see more patients, equivalent to approximately eight additional patients per week on average.
Özlem Fidancı, Philips’ Global Head of International Markets, said the company sees AI as one of the biggest opportunities to make healthcare more sustainable, accessible and affordable.
“Healthcare today faces enormous challenges. Staff shortages continue to increase. Chronic diseases are becoming more common. At the same time, populations around the world are ageing,” Fidancı said.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates the global healthcare workforce will face a shortage of around 11 million health workers by 2030, with most of the gap concentrated in low- and lower-middle-income countries.
“AI is already helping automate clinical workflows, reduce scan times, improve image quality and support more effective treatments. It can improve workflows inside hospitals, support clinicians in their daily work and ultimately allow healthcare systems to care for more patients.”
She said AI was “always integrated into solutions that address real clinical needs rather than technology for technology's sake.”
Philips aims to improve the lives of 2.5 billion people by 2030, including 400 million people from medically underserved communities, she said.
Trust, Clinical Oversight And Regulation Remain Critical
Carla Goulart Peron, Philips’ Chief Medical Officer, said AI’s role is to support clinicians while keeping medical professionals responsible for final decisions.
“AI is there to augment clinicians and not replace them,” Peron said.
“Ultimately, patients need confidence that AI has been developed responsibly and that clinicians remain responsible for the final decisions.”
Peron said AI has supported medical imaging for more than a decade and recent advances in machine learning are expanding its capabilities across diagnosis and treatment.
She cautioned that technology alone cannot solve healthcare challenges.
“Technology is only one part of the solution. It has to be introduced at the right moment, together with the right infrastructure, training and clinical pathways,” she said.
“Today, machine learning models are trained using carefully curated datasets. Once those models are validated and approved, they are essentially locked before being deployed into clinical practice. Meanwhile, regulators around the world... are working together with industry to determine how future generations of continuously learning AI can be regulated safely.”
Philips executives said broader adoption of AI in healthcare will depend on transparency, cybersecurity, robust clinical validation and collaboration with regulators to ensure patient safety while expanding access to care.
(Journalist was in Netherlands for Philips Pulse Connect event on invite) |
