Opening Context Chronic conditions are among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide; however, healthcare systems are often unprepared to address the needs of patients with chronic conditions. This indicates the need for new approaches to support chronic care delivery. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, remote modalities emerged as promising solutions. They are more convenient for patients and clinicians, but challenges persist in the quality of interaction and assessment, which eventually impact the health outcomes. There is the opportunity to introduce novel solutions, and recent developments in Artificial Intelligence (AI) indicate promising avenues. Research Overview With a focus on the public health sector in the Northwest of Ireland, my doctoral research explores the integration of AI technologies in remote chronic care. The research engaged patients with chronic conditions and their clinicians to better understand their needs in remote care settings and identify opportunities for improvement. Based on this evidence, appropriate AI supports were explored and a bespoke prototype was co-designed with the close involvement of patients and clinicians. In addition, innovative futures studies were conducted to explore the potential long-term impact of implementing this AI tool in practice. Key Insights / Findings This research has generated important insights into the ongoing challenges associated with remote care delivery. While both patients and clinicians generally view remote care positively, they highlighted limitations in areas such as rapport building, empathetic care delivery and clinical assessment. Based on these findings, key AI features were identified to enhance remote chronic care provision, making it more patient-centred and empathetic. A bespoke prototype has even been developed with the close involvement of end users, resulting in a highly usable and acceptable assistive tool that supports humane care provision at a distance. Furthermore, the future impact of this tool has been identified across key areas of remote care delivery, providing important insights in view of future implementation. Why It MattersThe findings of this doctoral research are highly relevant to the Irish public health sector. The HSE has outlined its plans for the development and adoption of remote care, highlighting its central role in future care delivery pathways. The challenges identified through this research provide important insights to inform these evolving models of care. In addition, the HSE’s ‘AI for Care 2026–2030’ strategy sets out ambitions to harness AI to deliver more efficient and innovative healthcare for patients and Healthcare professionals (HCPs). The development of a bespoke AI tool to support virtual consultations, which resulted from this doctoral project, aligns closely with this strategy. The transparent dissemination of this work and its underlying features can support future adoption and implementation of AI-enabled remote care solutions across the Irish healthcare system. What’s Next?The findings outlined across the publications arising from this doctoral research provide several avenues for future research and practice. Following formal evaluation and regulatory compliance, the evidence-based prototype could be trialled in low-risk remote chronic care settings to assess its effectiveness in practice. The findings also have clear policy relevance, particularly in informing the design of remote care and AI-supported healthcare systems. Future research could expand the participant samples to involve other Irish regions or even other health services to assess the views of these demographics towards the AI solution.
Pranavsingh Dhunnoo (Tue,) studied this question.