Microsoft: Generative AI could deliver up to $13B in value to Australia’s healthcare sector

A new report suggests the Australian healthcare sector could potentially gain billions of dollars in value from generic AI if it can accelerate its responsible adoption.

Titled Australia’s Generative AI Opportunities, the report by Microsoft and the Tech Council of Australia, the apex body representing the country’s technology sector, highlights the potential economic opportunities from the adoption of generative AI in key sectors, including healthcare.

why it matters

According to the report, depending on the pace of adoption, the healthcare sector could gain between $5 billion to $13 billion in value from generic AI each year until 2030.

Its main driver is the ability of Generative AI to:

• allowing for one-on-one patient care by reducing time spent on administrative tasks – it is said that generative AI could automate a quarter of nursing tasks;

• enabling more personalized care by embedding them in wearable devices; And

• Most Australians have been reported to be interested in using digital self-service for pre-travel tasks – to support the transition towards a more proactive model of care by allowing earlier diagnosis on a larger scale.

However, for these benefits to be realised, the sector must maintain patient privacy and security with “robust” protocols in place.

“To fully capitalize on this opportunity, healthcare organizations and professionals will need to rapidly adopt Generative AI to ensure personalized care, safety and privacy of patients,” stressed Kate Pounder, CEO of the Tech Council of Australia.

big trend

In addition to healthcare, manufacturing, retail, and professional and financial services are also set to benefit from generic AI, which could contribute up to A$115 billion to Australia’s overall economy by the end of the decade by improving these industries and enabling the creation of new products and services.

Realizing these economic advantages is needed by leveraging its comparative advantages in digital technology, including its large and highly skilled workforce, strong investment in digital infrastructure and high levels of cloud computing adoption.

However, based on the report, Australia faces barriers to achieving these benefits in four areas: technology capability, enterprise readiness, awareness and skills, and responsible AI. The report offers strategic actions to address these issues, including defining the opportunity and vision for generative AI, assessing readiness, encouraging adoption and innovation, skilling the workforce, and developing responsible AI governance frameworks.

Meanwhile, earlier this year, AI ethicist Stephen Harrer, chief innovation officer at the Digital Health Cooperative Research Center, came up with a proposal. The paper, published in The Lancet’s eBioMedicine journal, proposes for the first time a comprehensive ethical framework for the responsible use, design and administration of generic AI applications in healthcare and medicine.

On the record

“With Generative AI, Australia is well-positioned to lead in the efficient delivery of health services… The country has an incredible opportunity to harness the true potential of Generative AI and continue to enhance our reputation as one of the world’s best healthcare systems. This technology could also help Australia address some of the current challenges in the sector, including staff shortages and patient waiting lists,” added Pounder.

“Microsoft is committed to fostering closer collaboration between industry and government to ensure that countries can realize the potential economic benefits of generic AI, and do so responsibly. Microsoft ANZ CTO Lee Hickin also commented, “Building confidence in this technology is critical to harnessing its innovative capabilities and enabling Australia to become a global leader in this area.”