Thieme is one of the leading providers of medical specialist information. We spoke to Katrin Siems, Senior Executive Vice President Marketing and Sales at the Thieme Group, and AI expert Alexander Thamm about the opportunities and prospects of combining quality-assured specialist content and standardized patient data with artificial intelligence.
Where in the healthcare system can AI provide the greatest benefit?
Alexander Thamm: I see a huge opportunity in the fact that an AI that is trained on reliable information can serve as a kind of "medical co-pilot". The AI sorts, filters and personalizes the reliable knowledge and provides the doctor with exactly the information he or she needs in the specific treatment situation. This allows people working in the healthcare sector to focus more on patients and on what sets humans apart from AI: intuition, creativity, interpersonal perception and care.
Anyone who develops digital solutions for the healthcare sector has to meet specific requirements in terms of data protection and the traceability of results. Doesn't this contradict the use of AI – keyword: "black box"?
Katrin Siems: One of Thieme's strengths is the provision of high-quality medical information and specific knowledge for the healthcare industry for a wide range of usage scenarios. We therefore offer the perfect basis for the use of AI. Sensitive patient data have the highest priority for Thieme. We must consider and guarantee their confidentiality and security when designing AI systems. Users' trust in AI models can be built up by not creating a "black box" at all, but by presenting the AI results transparently and comprehensibly.
Alexander Thamm: In principle, every answer from an AI is based on statistical probability. So you will never get the same answer 100 percent of the time. Depending on how an AI is structured, however, it is possible to minimize the deviations. So-called explainable AI, which makes its decision-making processes comprehensible, is one such approach in which we are well ahead in Europe. If Thieme provides its reliable, qualified and yet easy-to-use information to such a comprehensible AI system, this can also be a great advantage.
Will there still be a Thieme product or Thieme application in three or five years' time that can manage without AI?
Katrin Siems: AI will become an integral part of our internal processes as well as our digital solutions, whether through its use in the editorial process or as an integral part of the products themselves. We are firmly convinced that we can use AI to relieve the burden on those involved in patient care and improve the quality of treatment! However, we are not integrating AI as an end in itself, but because we really can use it to achieve better medicine and a healthier life.
The interview was conducted by Dr. Andreas Mehdorn, Consultant Digital Health & Public Affairs, Thieme Communications