1.1 Research purpose

This research has its origins in the Topol Review (2019) which recommended that the NHS should develop a workforce able and willing to transform it into a world leader in the effective use of healthcare artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics.

This research – a collaboration between Health Education England and the NHS AI Lab at the NHS Transformation Directorate – has its origins in the Topol Review (2019),⁵ which explored how to prepare the UK’s healthcare workforce to master digital technologies for patient benefit. The Topol Review recommended that the NHS should develop a workforce able and willing to transform it into a world leader in the effective use of healthcare artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics.

Health Education England (HEE) has since established the Digital, AI and Robotics Technologies in Education (DART-Ed) programme to understand the impact of advances in AI on education and training needs. This research will build on the AI Roadmap,³ published by HEE and Unity Insights (formerly the analytics and evaluation function of Kent Surrey and Sussex Academic Health Science Network) in January 2022. The Roadmap provides an understanding of the use of AI and data-driven technologies that currently exist in the healthcare system, the uptake of these new technologies, and the impact on the workforce. In addition, HEE is working with the University of Manchester to develop a skills and capabilities framework to support curriculum review and guide healthcare practitioners towards future required learning for digital healthcare.

The primary aim of this research is to explore the factors influencing healthcare workers’ confidence in artificial intelligence (AI) technologies and how these can be addressed through education and training.

Supporting healthcare workers to feel confident in identifying when and how to use AI is a main objective of the NHS AI Lab, and a key component of its vision for the safe, effective, and ethical adoption of AI technologies across health and care. This research will support the Lab’s commitment to empower healthcare workers to make the most of AI, including making the best of their expertise, informing their decisions, and saving them time to focus on patient care.

References

⁵ Topol E. The Topol Review: Preparing the Healthcare Workforce to Deliver the Digital Future. 2019. https://topol.hee.nhs.uk/the-topol-review/. Accessed February 28, 2022.

³ AI Roadmap report and interactive dashboard - Health Education England. https://www.hee.nhs.uk/our-work/dart-ed/ai-roadmap. Accessed February 28, 2022.