Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Punjab, Pakistan.
Department of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Punjab, Pakistan.
BMC Health Serv Res. 2024 Oct 8;24(1):1200. doi: 10.1186/s12913-024-11667-9.
The main objective of the study was to explore the perspectives of healthcare professionals (HCPs) regarding artificial intelligence (AI) and to identify challenges in its incorporation in the healthcare sector of Pakistan.
A qualitative exploratory study design was adopted. The study was conducted from January 15th to February 29th, 2024, and HCPs (doctors, pharmacists and nurses) from two tertiary care teaching hospitals in southern Punjab, Pakistan were taken as the study population. The interviews were conducted with the help of a semi structured interview schema. A thematic approach was adopted to analyse the data.
Out of 40 HCPs approached, 25 participated in the study with a response rate of 62%. The participants included in the study were doctors (14), pharmacists (6) and nurses (5). The participants had limited knowledge regarding AI and its basics. However, they showed positive perceptions about its incorporation. They believed that many of the problems faced by the healthcare sector of Pakistan can be minimized by AI incorporation. They believed that AI can boost up the efficiency of healthcare providers, reduce their workload, save time and minimize medical errors. Four main themes with multiple subthemes were identified: (1) Cognizance of AI, (2) Acceptability of AI among HCPs and training requirements for effective incorporation, (3) Merits and Demerits of AI, and (4) Challenges in incorporation of AI with proposed solutions.
HCPs showed a willingness to embrace AI incorporation and believed that it may bring numerous benefits to the health system. Policymakers should take necessary steps to ensure AI incorporation in our healthcare sector.
本研究的主要目的是探讨医疗保健专业人员（HCPs）对人工智能（AI）的看法，并确定在巴基斯坦医疗保健领域中采用 AI 面临的挑战。
采用定性探索性研究设计。研究于 2024 年 1 月 15 日至 2 月 29 日进行，研究对象为来自巴基斯坦旁遮普省南部的两家三级保健教学医院的 HCPs（医生、药剂师和护士）。访谈是在半结构化访谈方案的帮助下进行的。采用主题分析方法对数据进行分析。
在接触的 40 名 HCPs 中，有 25 名参加了研究，响应率为 62%。参与研究的人员包括医生（14 名）、药剂师（6 名）和护士（5 名）。参与者对 AI 及其基础知识的了解有限，但对其采用持积极态度。他们认为，巴基斯坦医疗保健部门面临的许多问题都可以通过 AI 采用来最小化。他们认为，AI 可以提高医疗服务提供者的效率，减轻他们的工作量，节省时间并减少医疗错误。确定了四个主题和多个子主题：（1）AI 的认知，（2）HCPs 对 AI 的接受程度和有效采用所需的培训，（3）AI 的优点和缺点，（4）AI 采用面临的挑战及提出的解决方案。
HCPs 表示愿意接受 AI 采用，并认为这可能会给卫生系统带来诸多好处。政策制定者应采取必要措施，确保 AI 在我们的医疗保健领域得到采用。
