West African-Taiwan Conference

6th West African-Taiwan Conference - Smart Medicine And Medical Education
Hosted By Accra College Of Medicine
1st – 2nd November,
Best Western Premier Hotel, Airport

Introduction

The Accra College of Medicine and Taichung Hospital in collaboration with Chang Shun Medical University and the Health Facilities Regulatory Authority (HeFRA) convened the 6th West African – Taiwan Conference under the theme “Smart Medicine and Medical Education”.
The aim of the conference was to facilitate the exchange of knowledge between experts in West-Africa and Taiwan pertaining to advancements in smart medicine practice and the application of novel technological tools to medial education.
The 2-day conference saw over 60 Medical Consultants and Specialists, Researchers, Academic Satff and Policy Experts determine the following observations, outcomes and recommendations:

Observations
  1. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing how medicine is practiced across the world, even in resource-limited environments. This comes with many ethical considerations as far as smart medicine is concerned and these must not be ignored.
  2. The integration of electronic health records across Ghana is enhancing the quality of healthcare delivery and is creating a streamline of processes similar to what is observed in Taiwan. However, this calls for strong ethical practices to protect data and ensure individual autonomy.
  3. The use of drones in transporting urgent medical supplies has brought essential services to parts of Ghana that are often hard to reach due to remote geographical locations, logistical challenges, expediency of time and clinical need, and other factors.
  4. There are many concerns, legitimate or otherwise about how advanced technologies threaten to replace humans in the near future.
  5. The global scarcity of specialists, such as neurosurgeons, is worse in Africa, however smart tools such as Artificial Intelligence represents a viable solution because of its ability to lower expenses and human errors.
  6. Faster internet connectivity could allow surgeries to be performed by experts remotely and the demonstration of suturing a banana remotely is evidence of proof of concept.
  7. A variety of techniques, including 3-D lectures, digital simulation, 3-D printed dissection models, centralised robotic simulation, AI-mediated skills evaluation and virtual coaching are used to simulate human intellect in the training of medical students.
  8. Across West African and Taiwan, Artificial Intelligence is being embedded in healthcare systems to facilitate patient diagnosis, preoperative assessment and operative phase by improving Electronic Medical Record (EMR), lab services, and AI-enhanced imaging for accurate diagnostic assessments.
  9. Logic-based algorithms combined with big data are revolutionising laboratory work and offering considerable improvements in the diagnostic quality of medical imaging.
  10. Challenges, including resistance to change and complexity in digitization, were acknowledged. The conclusion emphasized the global recognition of electronic health records and Telemedicine benefits, focusing on patient-centered and population-based health improvements.
Outcomes

The Accra College of Medicine by spearheading this conference has:

  1. Created a platform for knowledge sharing and acquainting participants with the importance and use of SMART medicine.
  2. Emphasised the need to engage stakeholders in processes to enhance the use of smart technologies like AI in the delivery of healthcare and training of healthcare practitioners.
  3. Brought to light the opportunities and challenges surrounding how smart technologies are used in healthcare delivery in both West Africa and Taiwan.
Recommendations

Based on the observations above, the following recommendations are being made:

  1. Healthcare institutions across the world should strengthen Electronic Health Record Implementation and Telemedicine Initiatives, as the availability of data strengthens the reach of smart tools and healthcare delivery. These should be done with ethical considerations around data protection.
  2. There is the need for digital optimization to support the transition from paper-based records to electronic health records across Ghana and West Africa, especially in rural communities.
  3. African Governments should make investments in smart medicine now as the benefits outweigh the running costs of operations without them in the long term. For example, the combination of AI and neurosurgery opens up new possibilities, addressing neurosurgeon shortages.
  4. Ethical frameworks should be put in place by regulators amidst technological advancements. This calls for ongoing dialogue amongst stakeholders internationally, and contributions to prioritize ethical considerations in healthcare practices at a national level.
  5. Training of medical students should include compulsory elements on relevant technologies as this will ensure that the future doctors are able to maximise available smart technologies in their line of work.

 “The fear is not that AI will make doctors redundant. Rather doctors will be made redundant by doctors who use AI.”
 Unknown Source

Written By Clinical Year Medical Students of ACM

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