Sheba Director Warns of Healthcare Crisis, Touts AI Transformation
Sheba Medical Center Director Prof. Yitzhak Kreiss warned that Western healthcare faces a severe resource gap, urging a digital transformation powered by artificial intelligence to reduce errors and automate documentation.
Professor Yitzhak Kreiss, director of the Sheba Medical Center, warned at the ITech Israel conference that Western healthcare systems will struggle to meet future medical demands due to a growing resource gap. Kreiss emphasized that bridging this gap requires a fundamental transformation in medical care, with artificial intelligence playing a central role.
AI in Clinical Decision-Making and Error Reduction
One of the key arguments presented by Kreiss focused on the ability of AI systems to reduce medical errors. In experiments conducted at Sheba, AI demonstrated fewer mistakes than humans, particularly under conditions of fatigue and high pressure, such as in the emergency department at two in the morning. However, Kreiss acknowledged that utilizing technology requires extreme caution, noting that when an AI system makes a mistake, the analytical process is far more complex than reviewing human error.
Streamlining Documentation and Saving Time
Beyond decision support, Kreiss highlighted documentation and administrative tasks as prime areas where technology can free up time for patient care. Sheba is currently implementing an AI system that records doctor-patient conversations, processes the information, and populates the electronic medical record directly. Starting January 1, the system is projected to save physicians 50% of their working time, allowing doctors to focus on the patient rather than typing and searching for data.
Overcoming Institutional and Cultural Barriers
According to Kreiss, developing the technology itself is only a small fraction of the overall challenge. Technology accounts for 10% of the effort, infrastructure for 20%, and the remaining 70% lies in organizational culture, regulation, ethics, and workforce training. The strategy at Sheba involves training hospital staff across various departments to adapt AI tools to specific clinical needs, such as neonatal care versus cardiology, while opting to purchase existing commercial solutions when possible rather than building everything from scratch.
