Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Medical Education
Date Submitted: Mar 7, 2024
Date Accepted: Jan 2, 2025
Artificial Intelligence in the Health Sector: A Systematic Review of Key Skills for Future Health Professionals
ABSTRACT
Background:
Technological advancements, particularly in artificial intelligence (AI), have revolutionized healthcare, enhancing diagnostics and patient care. The adoption of AI confronts infrastructural and educational hurdles, necessitating a transformation in healthcare's operational, cultural, and ethical frameworks. AI's capability to process large datasets, identify patterns, and improve decision-making introduces a need for healthcare professionals to acquire specialized knowledge in AI-related disciplines. This includes machine learning, deep learning, and natural language processing, alongside the ability to navigate AI's ethical and practical challenges within clinical settings. The evolving landscape underscores the importance of developing competencies to integrate AI effectively and ethically into healthcare practices.
Objective:
This review aims to outline the essential skills and knowledge necessary for healthcare professionals to effectively employ artificial intelligence (AI) in clinical practices.
Methods:
Adhering to PRISMA guidelines, a systematic review was conducted across PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science from November to December 2023, focusing on literature related to AI competencies in healthcare. Search terms combined "Artificial Intelligence" with "Healthcare Professionals" and "Skills" or "Education." Inclusion criteria targeted peer-reviewed articles since 2018, in English or Spanish, on necessary skills for using AI in healthcare. The selection process involved relevance checks of titles and abstracts, followed by full-text reviews, with the GRADE framework assessing evidence quality.
Results:
From 2,457 articles identified, 7 met the inclusion criteria, highlighting a consensus on the need for healthcare professionals to develop competencies in AI fundamentals, data analysis, and ethical considerations. The review indicates a significant gap in literature on explicit clinical AI competencies and calls for a balanced competency development approach, encompassing both technical and communicative skills.
Conclusions:
AI's integration into healthcare is essential for advancing patient care, necessitating healthcare professionals to develop a core set of AI-related competencies. Despite the field's nascent nature, there's an imperative for healthcare education to evolve, integrating these competencies to adapt to a digitally advancing landscape. Regulatory frameworks play a critical role in ensuring AI tools' reliability and safety. This review underscores the need for ongoing research to define and standardize AI competencies within clinical education, preparing healthcare professionals to leverage AI's benefits effectively.
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Copyright
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