Key facts
- AI tools are being deployed in European hospitals, but regulation lags behind.
- The WHO Europe chief warned of risks to patients due to this governance gap.
- Only 8% of countries in the WHO European Region have a health-specific AI strategy.
- Nearly 40% of countries lack ethical guidance on AI use in healthcare.
- AI diagnostics are used by two-thirds of WHO Europe countries, and patient chatbots by half.
- WHO plans to launch a Roadmap on AI and Health in 2028.
Artificial intelligence tools are increasingly being deployed in European hospitals to assist healthcare professionals with diagnostics and workflow improvements. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) Europe chief, Hans Kluge, has warned that the pace of AI adoption is far outstripping the development of regulations and ethical guidelines, creating a significant governance gap.
Kluge stated that this disparity poses risks to patients, as biased algorithms could lead to incorrect diagnoses with serious consequences. He noted that while two-thirds of the 53 WHO Europe countries are already using AI diagnostics and half employ AI-powered patient chatbots, only a small fraction have strategies for governing AI. Specifically, only 8% of countries have a health-specific AI strategy, and nearly 40% lack any ethical guidance on AI use in healthcare settings.
The lack of adequate education and training is also a concern, with only one in five countries providing AI education for healthcare students and one in four offering workforce training. Kluge emphasized that this situation erodes public trust in health systems more broadly. The WHO aims to address these issues by launching a Roadmap on AI and Health in 2028.