Integrating artificial Intelligence in surgery has brought about much improvement. Per reports, AI in surgery offers improved precision, reduced operating time, less blood loss, lower risk of infection, and reduced recovery time.
Cleveland puts AI-powered surgery’s success rate at 94-100%, showing how impressive it has been.
It is like gambling at the ICE Casino with higher guarantees of winning. However, AI-powered surgeries demand essential ethical considerations despite the potential high success rate. Major players in the healthcare sector should review common concerns to ensure the integration of AI into surgery is safe, fair, and respectful to everyone involved.
Ethical Considerations in Artificial Intelligence Surgery
The increasing role of AI in healthcare equally increases awareness of its potential implications and the need to know how to avert them. Hence, we examine the ethical considerations in AI-powered surgery below to learn how to curb these implications. They include the following:
Safety and Well-being
The ultimate concern is for patients to be safe and well cared for. Clinicians must ensure that adopted AI systems are properly tested and validated to minimize error during surgery. Protocols should be in place to handle potential malfunctions of the artificial intelligence systems or other unexpected complications during the procedure. These are vital considerations that can ensure patients’ safety and well-being. Furthermore, data breaches could affect the safety of patients in many ways. Patients’ data used to train and test these systems are susceptible to breach and misuse. Health practitioners must anonymize and protect these data to maintain confidentiality and trust. Here are recommended ways to go about it:
- Using non-identifiable information as much as possible;
- Practicing data minimization (i.e., capturing only the minimum amount of data needed);
- Regularly review what data is stored and why;
- Using only highly relevant personal data for Algorithm training and testing;
- Using data only for purposes to which a patient consented.
Data privacy and security is a serious consideration, as personal health data can be dangerous in the wrong hands.
Informed Consent
Patients must be aware of its involvement in their surgical procedures. They are expected to know how artificial intelligence is involved in their treatment procedures and the associated benefits and risks. Clinicians must also consider patients’ ability to comprehend the information provided and do everything possible to ensure understanding. This will enable patients to reach a genuine conclusion on whether to consent to its involvement or not.
Bias and Fairness
Integrated artificial intelligence systems in surgical procedures must be programmed to avoid discrimination. The algorithm must ensure equitable access and equal treatment opportunities. Programmers should address bias from skewed training data and other factors that may contribute to disparities in treatment accessibility and outcomes. It would be unethical to limit usage to only a privileged group. The decision-making must be transparent to allow health professionals to comprehend the process and trust-generated recommendations. Complex and non-understandable processes bring many questions about correctness and accuracy. Hence, the transparency and simplicity of these systems are vital considerations too.
Clinical Judgment, Autonomy, and Regulations
Artificial Intelligence shouldn’t replace human clinical judgment; a balance must exist. While programmers must build algorithms with trust, intervention mechanisms for human surgeons must also be in place. Only human professionals should be able to make final decisions in any situation, and there should be clear regulations made from human judgments. Regulated and standardized AI surgery will guarantee safety, efficiency, and ethical consistency. The use of this system in surgery must follow the principles of medical ethics — beneficence, non-maleficence, autonomy, and justice. This will prevent misuse and curb possible implications arising from AI-powered surgery’s pitfalls.
Continuous Monitoring and Update
Regular monitoring and periodic updates of systems deployed to surgical procedures are essential. It addresses potential concerns and ensures improved performance. Fostering this continuous monitoring and improvement will ensure that these systems meet ethical standards and care for patient needs appropriately. This is where the expertise of surgeons and other medical staff in using artificial intelligence technologies comes into play. Everyone involved in AI-powered surgery must receive adequate training to ensure competence in using these technologies. Also, surgeons must balance relying on manual skills and robots, as manual competence is essential when this integration is not applicable.
Improved Results at the Right Cost
Artificial Intelligence surgeries may have a higher success rate, but it won’t be ideal if the underlying implications are higher. This is why getting guidance on ethical considerations is vital. Its integration in different sectors has come with mixed effects. However, keeping the ethical considerations in mind before adoption ensures the positive effects prevail in the long run. These surgery approaches could be the beginning of positive robotics influence in the healthcare sector, but addressing potential pitfalls will be crucial to making the most of it.