What happens when AI gives radiologists a second pair of eyes? Done well, it can help find disease earlier, ease the workload and free clinicians to spend more time with patients. But getting it into a hospital takes evidence, governance and a lot of people in the room. In this episode, we speak to Professor Nuala Healy, Chair of Radiology at RCSI and Consultant Radiologist at Beaumont Hospital, about getting AI tools into Irish hospitals, measuring whether they work and asking patients what they think.
The evidence is encouraging. A large Swedish trial of more than 100,000 women found a 29% increase in cancer detection and a 44% reduction in radiologists’ workload.
What you can take away and act on:
🔹 Start with the clinical question. Identify where the need is before you talk to vendors.
🔹 Bring every team into the room early. Clinical colleagues, the emergency department, procurement, IT, the imaging team and your data protection officer all have a part to play.
🔹 Measure outcomes from the start, and keep measuring. Track missed fractures, referrals and time in the emergency department, and be ready for an “awkward breakup” with an AI tool that isn’t working.
🔹 Keep a human in the loop. Nuala explains automation bias, why radiologists need to feel able to overrule the AI, and how to train junior radiologists to build their own judgement.
🔹 Ask patients, and tell them. Of about 3,500 people surveyed, 96% in the radiology study wanted to be told when AI is used in their care, and the EU AI Act now requires it.
🔹 Share the platform, not just the tool. Ireland’s national imaging system lets AI tools be plugged in centrally, rather than every hospital repeating the same governance process.
For civil servants and public sector leaders introducing AI into frontline services, this is a practical guide to getting it in safely, measuring it properly and keeping people in the loop.
Transform Gov is part of the Ireland eGovernment Awards, in partnership with Accenture.
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