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Artificial intelligence has been promoted as one of the solutions to the increasing pressure on healthcare services in Scotland.
In four charts, The Ferret looks at how costs and waiting times in Scotland’s NHS are spiralling, and the AI tools which could help to ease the burden.
The cost of running hospitals has increased since 2018, with energy and utility expenditure up by 39 per cent.
The cost of diagnostic imaging has also gone up since 2018…
…but the waiting times for diagnostic imaging are up as well.
The average waiting time for an ultrasound is higher than ever, while the waiting times for CT and MRI scans have stayed above the pre-pandemic rates.
AI promises to speed up and improve diagnoses. Eight tools are in use in the NHS.
There are 44 AI tools listed on the AI registry by the Royal College of Radiologists. Eight are listed as used by Scottish NHS health boards.
This article was amended at 12.31pm on 16 July 2024 to correct the percentage increase figures in charts presenting costs of diagnostic imaging and running hospitals. The previously given 28 per cent increase was replaced with the correct figure of 39 per cent.
Main image: Harlie Raethel via Unsplash
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