Artificial intelligence is not a future promise for the healthcare system: it is a current reality that is rapidly changing the organization of the system, the role of professionals and the patient experience. This question does not need to be incorporated into the health sector, if it is carried out with responsibility, criteria and strategic vision.
The sector is moving with unrivaled strength. Artificial intelligence is learning our lives and starting to permeate healthcare processes, from the automation of administrative procedures to the end of diagnostic imaging or pathological anatomy. But more than technology, the main network is cultural.
Professionals and patients should see it as an ally: a tool that speeds up processes while improving clinical accuracy and enabling a doctor-patient relationship that is more focused on value and less on bureaucracy.
This change from the door to more predictive, personalized and participatory medicine. The ability to predict disease, standardize courses of care and accompany the patient before, during and after the system is a tipping point: we are moving from action-based medicine to continuous process medicine.
The focus is not just on the consultation or diagnostic test, but on the entire patient journey, from the first symptom to follow-up.
This technology makes it possible to carry out tests before a doctor’s visit and familiarize patients with standard circuits
In this context, AI acts as an accelerator of transformation. On the one hand, it allows you to automate more treatment processes and free up clinical time. In addition, it brings value to medical complexity, helping to integrate information, prioritize issues, and strengthen decision-making. It does not replace a professional, but enhances your skills.
Artisanal moment of medicine – human interaction, physical exploration, empathy – remains intact. The difference is that it is now supported by tools that offer context, memory and analysis at a scale impossible for a single person.
The impact also applies to the assistance model. The technology makes it possible to carry out tests before visiting a doctor, familiarize patients with standard circuits and monitor once you leave the hospital.
Today, a significant proportion of patients go through technological herramentas before seeing a specialist, and there are hundreds of pre-defined clinical treatments that guarantee consistency and quality. The goal is clear: reduce hope, increase immediacy and offer faster responses in a system focused on public health and prevention of recurrences.
This process does not distinguish between public and private healthcare. Artificial intelligence keeps you connected, connects information and blurs borders. The system is unique and requires complementarity.
Artificial intelligence is going to strengthen prevention, redefine processes and promote a broader concept of health
Its agility and ability to adapt from the private sector facilitate the co-creation of solutions and responsible experimentation, always with an undeniable premise: quality and safety. There are no second chances in health. Herramientas must be well tested, meet exacting standards and offer clinical guarantees before expansion.
Regulation, while necessary, proceeds with caution. Europe favors the “do no harm” principle, which slows down certain developments, but should not become an excuse to slow down innovation.
Other health technologies – such as robotic surgery – also grew before coming into contact with complex regulatory frameworks. The club proceeds in a controlled manner, defines responsibilities and ensures that every decision it makes is always confirmed by a professional.
At the same time, new profiles appear. Process engineers with a medical education, clinicians with a consultative mentality, nurses as case managers, multidisciplinary teams capable of translating assistance needs into technological solutions.
There are no clear training itineraries for many of these roles: they are based on experience. Here, the patient becomes more informed, more active and more demanding, looking for speed, accompaniment and participation in their own care.
The real challenge is not technological, but adoption. Escalating these solutions requires training, internal communication and a willingness to change. Many beginners end up with a lack of data or find themselves in the “game world”. Like any medicine, AI must be proven to deliver real results: better diagnosis, better survival, better quality of life. This is the only way to consolidate its content in clinical practice.
We are facing a profound transformation and no return. Artificial intelligence strengthens prevention, redefines processes and supports a broader concept of health, focused on what occurs before illness.
Tight integration allows you to treat each patient in a more integrated way, connecting systems and offering more efficient and humane care. The final message is clear: those who do not embrace this transformation will follow later.
AI is not an end, but a means to building a more sustainable, accurate and human-centered healthcare system. The task is collective – institutions, experts and citizens – and the opportunity is historic.
*** Borja Sangrador, Partner responsible for Health & Life Sciences at EY.
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