Primer on AI Considerations for Healthcare Administrators Developed by IHPME Student

As the commitment to Artificial Intelligence (AI) in public health grows, administrators are calling for more formalized guidance for its use to provide the best patient care. 

By: Marielle Boutin

A recently published article, led by an IHPME student, sheds light on the potential of AI implementation in healthcare, focusing on how it can be applied and providing practical guidelines for AI readiness in a public health setting.  

“A Primer on Artificial Intelligence for Healthcare Administrators,” featured in the April 2024 issue of Healthcare Quarterly, is meant to assist practitioners in leveraging the benefits of AI, recognizing its challenges and developing procedures for its integration.  

Senthujan Senkaiahliyan, a recent graduate of the Health Administration (MHSc) program, Program Manager with the PMCC AI Team at the University Health Network (UHN) and lead author of the article, was motivated to develop the primer after he realized that the advancements in AI were quickly surpassing healthcare leaders’ understanding of its capabilities.  

“I wanted to bridge my experiences and learnings to help healthcare administrators become proficient in AI,” says Senkaiahliyan. “This drive led to the development of this primer, aiming to orient healthcare leaders on the potential and applications of AI in healthcare.” 

Senkaiahliyan’s interest in AI was unlocked during his undergraduate studies. He began as a life sciences student at U of T, majoring in human biology and medical anthropology before completing a summer internship at SickKids. This led to a full-time role as a Patient Flow Coordinator, where he was first exposed to AI in a healthcare setting. This experience was a motivating factor in Senkaiahliyan’s decision to pursue the Master of Management in Artificial Intelligence (MMAI) program at Queen’s University, where he learned about the technical and administrative aspects of AI systems. 

Senkaiahliyan raised the idea of writing the primer to his colleagues in the Future of Work in the Healthcare Sector in the Age of Intelligent Machines and Technologies (FORESIGHT) Research Project Team, a collective that was established by Dr. Abi Sriharan to prepare the health workforce to be AI-ready. Senkaiahliyan became involved with this research initiative after he co-founded IHPME’s Artificial Intelligence for Health Systems Student Network (AIHSN) and recognized its intersection with FORESIGHT.   

Dr. Sriharan, a co-author of the article, recalls Senkaiahliyan’s ambition to promote AI proficiency in healthcare administration and his suggestion to develop the guide.  

“As a student in healthcare management, Senthujan recognized the need for AI literacy among emerging healthcare administrators. When challenged to lead this project, he eagerly took up the task and collaborated with the FORESIGHT project team to develop this primer. We hope it will serve as an essential foundation to help healthcare leaders understand AI’s role in their clinical settings and develop strategies for AI integration.” 

The primer explores several possible applications of AI in healthcare including Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSS) to enhance decision-making through data pattern recognition, Early Warning Systems (EWS) that use patient data to predict worsening health conditions and assist with resource allocation, and the use of administrative tools that apply Natural Language Processing (NLP) to automate documentation and reduce burnout among clinicians.  

According to Senkaiahliyan and the other authors of the article, the novelty of these technologies presents challenges due to varied understandings among healthcare professionals.  

“For instance, the concept of AI safety has different connotations for healthcare practitioners and computer scientists,” says Senkaiahliyan. “For healthcare professionals, AI safety involves ensuring that AI tool outputs are properly governed to deliver patient care, minimize harm, and prevent systemic discrimination. In contrast, computer scientists focus on improving the robustness, fairness, and interpretability of AI tools. This primer aims to present the opportunities these tools offer in transforming organizations in a manner that is both understandable and appreciable.” 

Senkaiahliyan hopes that healthcare leaders will see the primer as a useful tool for implementing AI strategies in their organizations and building a more innovative and efficient healthcare system.  

Senkaiahliyan will be starting his doctoral studies in Fall 2024 in the Health Systems Research (HSR) program to continue building his capacity to understand the ever-evolving and dynamic nature of AI in healthcare.  

“The field of AI in healthcare is exciting, with numerous possibilities and growth opportunities,” says Senkaiahliyan. “However, I’ve learned not to plan too far in advance and to remain open to new directions. I believe in taking things as they come and always engaging in work that is rewarding, fulfilling, and makes me excited to get up in the morning.” 

Building on the guidelines in the primer, Senkaiahliyan hopes to continue exploring how AI can revolutionize healthcare systems, leveraging tools such as the High Value Health System Model (HVHS) from Harvard School of Public Health, where he is a Research Scholar at the Health Systems Innovation Lab. While AI isn’t a perfect solution, he believes it is an important tool and hopes it will help health systems leaders reach the goal of providing high-quality, safe, effective and universal healthcare.