Artificial intelligence enters medicine - and doctors receive new boundaries

Artificial intelligence is moving deeper into healthcare operations, and the Israel Medical Association’s new position paper focuses on setting boundaries for safe integration. Published this month through the Institute for Quality in Medicine and the Israeli Society for Risk Management and Patient Safety in Medicine, the document outlines general principles for using AI-based systems without letting them become a substitute for clinical judgment. It says AI should assist with diagnosis and treatment, while still keeping decision-making responsibility with the person treating the patient. The paper stresses that it is not guidance for individual cases, such as chest pain or pediatric fever, and that it does not replace staff judgment. It notes that generative AI accelerated interest, but machine learning has already been used for interpreting CT and X-ray scans, identifying pathological findings, assessing risks, prioritizing patients, and generating record-based recommendations. As of May 2024, the U.S. FDA approved 882 AI medical devices, with radiology leading at 671 devices (76%). The article also describes Israel’s use of systems such as Aidoc at Sheba, which flags urgent findings and helps radiologists manage large image volumes.