JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

The uptake of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare is at an early stage. Recent studies have shown the lack of AI-specific implementation theories, models or frameworks that could provide guidance for how to translate the potential of AI into daily healthcare practices. This protocol provides an outline for the first four years of a research program seeking to address this knowledge-practice gap through collaboration and co-design between researchers, healthcare professionals, patients and industry stakeholders.

Objective:

The first part of the program focuses on two specific objectives. First, to build an understanding of implementation of AI in healthcare and to develop a theoretical framework that can facilitate AI implementation in daily healthcare practices. Second, to carry out empirical AI implementation studies guided by the framework for AI implementation, thus generating insights and learning for enhanced knowledge and refinement of the framework.

Methods:

This research program uses a logic model to structure to the development of a methodological framework for planning and evaluating implementation of AI systems in healthcare and to support capacity building for its use in practice. The logic model is divided into time-separated stages, with a focus on theory driven and co-produced framework development. The activities are based on both knowledge development, utilizing existing theory and literature reviews, and method development by means of co-design and empirical investigations. The activities involve researchers, healthcare professionals and other stakeholders, thus creating a multi-perspective understanding of how the implementation of AI systems should be approached to increase likelihood of successful implementation and application in clinical practice.

Results:

The project is funded by the Swedish Innovation Agency and the Knowledge foundation for a period of 8 years in total starting from July 2021.

Conclusions:

There is a need to advance theory and empirical evidence on implementation requirements of AI systems in healthcare, and an opportunity to bring together insights from research on the development, introduction and evaluation of AI systems and existing knowledge about implementation research literature. Therefore, we intend in this research program to build an understanding, using both theoretical and empirical approaches, of how implementation of AI systems should be approached to increase the likelihood of successful and widespread application in clinical practice.