Adding compassion to the consultation: Using AI to create person-centered communication
Clinical conversations are at the heart of compassionate care, yet the way health information is documented and shared can influence how patients understand and engage with their care. Geetha’s project will introduce an AI scribe that listens to clinical conversations and generates both a clinical note and an easy-to-understand patient summary. Through co-design with people…
Read MoreDeploying a patient self-assessment medical chatbot in the emergency department
Emergency department (ED) wait times are increasing and are expected to keep rising. During long waits, many patients feel anxious, worried that something is seriously wrong and that they are not being cared for. Ilitea’s project proposes a digital self-assessment tool that can chat with the patients in the waiting room, collect their symptoms and…
Read MoreMoving from understanding to action: Integrating compassion into AI implementation in healthcare
Despite advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) tools, patient–provider relationships remain central to healthcare, with compassionate care at its core. However, AI research often lacks diverse perspectives, including those of clinicians and patients, and how compassionate healthcare can be achieved alongside the use of AI remains unclear. To fill this gap, Hwayeon’s project will operationalize compassion…
Read MoreOptimizing patient triage and transfer during mass casualty incidents: An artificial intelligence-based platform
Mass casualty incidents (MCIs) require rapid decision-making under extreme uncertainty. MCIs are associated with high costs, preventable patient mortality, and distress among first responders. Amin’s project will evaluate the effectiveness of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support decision-making for MCI triaging in simulated disasters. It will assess whether the use of an AI-powered digital platform 1)…
Read MoreBuilding a common thread: Community-led governance for AI in social prescribing and community health
Social prescribing is built on the most human elements of healthcare: the connections, activities, and relationships that help us thrive. It needs strong tools for digital referral and evaluation. As AI enters this work, we face a critical choice: if we rely on algorithms we don’t have a say in, we risk automating decisions that…
Read MoreDesigning practices for trustworthy, compassionate, and pluriversal AI for health
Artificial intelligence (AI) is being introduced into health care settings to improve efficiency, decision-making and patient safety. However, it arrives in a context already marked by declining institutional trust. Current approaches, centred on technical refinement and procedural compliance, only partially address this dynamic. Joseph’s project aims to identify where, how, and when trust and compassion…
Read MoreBuilding pathways to compassionate AI through children’s and families’ voices
Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly used in pediatric healthcare, but it can also create uncertainty, fear, and questions for children and families. Using interviews that include short, realistic stories based on real-world applications of AI in healthcare, this study explores how children and caregivers understand and experience AI, and what information they need to feel…
Read MoreBuilding trust by design: Patient-centered education for accountable AI in healthcare
As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly integrated into healthcare, patients and caregivers need accessible, trustworthy information to understand how AI may influence their care. Laura’s project will build on the nationally co-designed Patient Charter for the Accountable Use of AI in Healthcare to create educational resources with, and for, patients and families. Through co-design workshops, community…
Read MoreUsing secure, open-weight AI to protect compassionate care in family medicine
Family doctors and their teams spend hours on paperwork (writing referral letters, sorting incoming requests, and documenting visits) time that could otherwise go to connecting with patients. Zachary’s project asks whether secure open-weight artificial intelligence (AI) tools can safely reduce that administrative burden. Just as importantly, it asks whether the time saved is actually reinvested…
Read MoreAdvancing Compassion by design: An AI-driven frailty score to advance equitable care for people experiencing homelessness
People experiencing homelessness often have complex health needs that may not be recognized by existing healthcare tools. Stephanie’s project will develop and test an AI-tool to identify people who may be at risk of poor health outcomes. The tool will use routinely collected health data and will be developed in partnership with people who have…
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