AI tech to empower healthcare sector — Dzulkefly

PUTRAJAYA: The Health Ministry will empower the healthcare sector by implementing Artificial Intelligence technology without ignoring human expertise, said its minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad.

“We acknowledge that AI cannot replace the expertise inherent in humans. AI actually is merely the link or facilitator for something that is new.

“We will continue to use human expertise, but at the same time, we will not deny the importance of AI,” he said when speaking at the ministry's Excellence Service Award ceremony, here yesterday.

For this purpose, Dr Dzulkefly said his ministry was discussing with experts in the AI technology to explore methods of optimising service networks in the ministry's facility.

Speaking to reporters later, Dr Dzulkefly said the AI technology would be utilised in health programmes including in efforts to fight dengue and identifying the waiting period for a particular health service.

Meanwhile, Dr Dzulkefly said the ministry was considering implementing the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system in hospitals and health clinics nationwide.

He said Malaysia should not lag behind in using the technology which had been used currently in several countries including Vietnam.

“We will be ashamed if Vietnam, within the next two years, has the EMR and the system too had been implemented in the Middle East, namely Turkey.

“Turkey has not only implemented the EMR, but more than that, they have used the HIMS (Hospital Information Management System),” he said, adding that Malaysia had the capacity to implement the EMR but needed some time to implement it.