Today, somewhere in the world, someone will die in a queue.
They’ll arrive at the hospital. A scan will be taken. The danger will be there – visible, urgent, treatable. But the image will sit unexamined, behind a hundred others. By the time it reaches the right eyes, it will be too late.
This isn’t a glitch in the system. This is the system, as designed around the globe.
And yet, right now, artificial intelligence could read that scan in seconds. Flag the anomaly. Nudge it up the list. Win back the minutes that can make the difference. In some places, it already does.
But instead of building on those gains, we’re still debating – nudging the conversation around in circles, as if consensus were the cure.
The conversation has fallen behind
For years, the questions have stayed the same: Will AI replace doctors? Can we trust the outputs? Is it ethical? Reasonable questions – just not the ones being asked in the resuscitation bay.
Because while the conversation stays cautious, the technology has moved on.
Today’s systems are more than clever. They’re proactive. They route scans, spot risk, and help move cases forward. And when used well, these tools do give doctors something they have never had enough of: time.
Of course, clinical oversight is essential. These systems are not infallible, nor should they be treated as such. But where evaluated and deployed with care, they’re saving lives.
What if we didn’t have to wait for an emergency at all?
In some clinics, a single eye scan can now flag early signs of diabetes, heart disease. Even cognitive decline. The aim isn’t to replace a diagnosis. It’s to prompt action, and buying the time people didn’t know they were about to lose.
Finding illness early is vital, but so is what happens next.
Take cancer care. The gold standard is a team – surgeons, oncologists, radiologists, specialists – all reviewing the same case, together. Fewer than one percent of patients ever get that/
AI doesn’t replace that team. But it can help scale what they do.
In some hospitals, it already is – gathering notes, flagging patterns, surfacing the decisions that matter. Not making the call. Just laying the groundwork, so doctors can get to the point faster.
Not just for a lucky few. For everyone.
What’s really holding us back?
It’s not the tools. It’s the systems we’ve built around them.
Across the world, healthcare is under strain. Chronic illness is rising. Clinicians are burnt out. Some are leaving altogether. In too many places, care arrives too late – or not at all.
So the real risk isn’t in moving forward. It’s in standing still.
Yes, healthcare must proceed with care. But caution and inertia aren’t the same thing. Especially not when the alternative is missing what could have been caught.
And yes, these systems must be tested, explainable, and used responsibly. That includes robust clinical validation, transparency, training, and clear governance. These aren’t footnotes. They’re non-negotiables.
But they’re not reasons to stall, either.
The race is already on. The next era of health won’t be defined by how big our hospitals are. It will be defined by how fast – and how fairly – we deliver care. And the countries that move first won’t just lead in outcomes, they’ll set the benchmark.
Some already are. The UAE, for example, is piloting AI in emergency care and investing in national capacity – not because it has all the answers, but because it recognises the cost of waiting.
The waiting room is full. AI is already assisting in operating theatres – spotting what used to be missed, supporting decisions that once relied on a second pair of eyes.
The conversation, meanwhile, is still in the waiting room – unsure whether to step in.
We began with a queue. Someone is still in it.
Image: Thai Noipho, Getty Images
Solenne Singer is Senior Vice President at Informa, the FTSE 100 company that runs international events across multiple sectors, including healthcare. She is responsible for strategy and partnerships across Informa’s health portfolio, working with governments, industry and frontline practitioners. She has more than a decade’s experience in global events and policy, focusing on how innovation shapes patient care.
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