Emerging tech to give helping hand to healthcare

China places great importance on the health and well-being of its people and is actively harnessing emerging technologies — including the mobile internet, big data, cloud computing and artificial intelligence — to improve primary healthcare, said Lei Haichao, minister of China's National Health Commission.

Lei, who is also leader of the Chinese delegation to the 78th World Health Assembly, made the remarks on Monday in Geneva, Switzerland, at an event on the sidelines of the assembly.

The WHA is the highest decision-making body of the World Health Organization. The 78th edition of the gathering, themed "One World for Health", runs through May 27.

The event, titled "Empowering Primary Health Care with Digital Intelligence for Universal Health Coverage", was cohosted by China, Ethiopia, Peru, Tanzania and Thailand.

Lei said that integrating AI into the health sector will be a "central task" in shaping future healthcare plans. Current practices include using AI to enhance diagnostic and treatment efficiency for physicians in grassroots areas and to provide patients with personalized follow-ups, health monitoring and assistance in medication management, he added.

Wu Liying, director of the health bureau of the Jingning She autonomous county in East China's Zhejiang province, spoke about China's efforts in promoting AI-powered mobile clinics to deliver advanced healthcare services to remote areas.

She said the mobile clinic that operates weekly in the county is equipped with 23 medical devices in five key categories, including an automated biochemical analyzer, an electrocardiogram monitor, a portable ultrasound machine and a pulmonary function tester.

Linked to residents' medical records and insurance information and supported by cloud-based consultation rooms and AI-assisted diagnostic tools, the clinic allows higher-level hospitals to provide remote consultations, diagnoses and prescriptions.

"Residents no longer have to make long, tiring trips for minor illnesses," she said. "The smart mobile clinic model has been adopted across Zhejiang and is being promoted nationwide by the National Health Commission."

However, attendees also noted that the breakthrough comes with challenges and risks, particularly in terms of privacy protection and ethical considerations.

Lei, the minister, said, "We believe that only through extensive collaboration and concerted global efforts, can these technologies evolve into international public goods that truly benefit people's health."

High-level country representatives and other stakeholders attending the assembly also discussed global health challenges, including health emergency preparedness and response, financing and budgeting, governance reform, among others.

A global pandemic agreement, after three years of intensive negotiation among World Health Organization member states, was formally adopted on Tuesday at the plenary session of the assembly.

The agreement proposes the establishment of a series of new platforms and mechanisms aimed at comprehensively reforming the existing systems for pandemic surveillance, prevention and response.

It seeks to promote research and equitable sharing of pandemic-related products, adjust the production and distribution order of such products, and further improve the global public health governance system, with a particular focus on addressing fairness challenges in international health cooperation.

Xinhua contributed to the story.