PRESIDENT, Dr. Irfaan Ali, on Saturday, revealed that the government was collaborating with top Artificial Intelligence (AI) and robotics providers to implement a national panel of doctors specialised and expertly trained in AI-guided surgical treatments. He made the announcement during the launch of the Universal Healthcare Voucher at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC).

“We are working with the best AI and robotics providers in the healthcare system and we are going to identify a national panel of doctors that will be specialised and specifically trained in AI-guided surgical treatment,” the President said.

It is expected that there will be a panel of local doctors, assisted by an external panel of doctors that will support the healthcare system. This plan is already at the negotiation stage and will come into operation early next year, the President said.

The Head of State told the large gathering of parents, medical professionals, children and teachers that the government was working assiduously to build out a world-class healthcare sector for all. However, this prime healthcare sector will not only offer state-of-the art services to Guyanese but also the Caribbean region.

“Our healthcare system is meant to support healthcare within the region but [also] importantly to deliver global health services here in Guyana. We see Guyana as an attractive destination for global healthcare services and that is what we’re building for.”

Further, the incorporation of AI will be present in other areas, as the President highlighted that AI will be used to analyse the symptoms of a person and then conduct an assessment to detect the level of urgency.

This, according to the President, will remove human bias. He also underscored the importance of having reliable data in the healthcare system.

“The best healthcare system must be supported by good reliable, strong, efficient data,” the President said while underscoring that soon, every child, from the time they are born, will have access to their medical record until death.

The game-changing electronic health records (EHR) system is set to be rolled out later this month. The initiative will pave the way for medical professionals to store and manage patients’ data more efficiently.

Guyana’s healthcare sector is undergoing significant improvements, with the government leveraging technology to digitise medical records. The Ministry of Health contracted UK-based company RioMed Limited at a cost of US$3.3 million to design, supply and install the electronic records system