Calgary leaders discuss high-tech prescriptions for change, AI’s role in Alberta healthcare

Calgary Innovation Week runs from Nov. 13-21, 2024. – Photo by Jennifer Friesen, Digital Journal

“If we don’t innovate inside our healthcare system, sooner or later, it will collapse,” said Alberta’s Minister of Technology and Innovation, Nate Glubish, at the kick-off for Calgary Innovation Week. 

If that sounds a little…dire, don’t worry. 

Glubish followed this up by saying innovation and tech like artificial intelligence (AI) play a big role in helping the system to evolve.

The official launch event for Calgary Innovation Week brought together leaders from government, academia and tech startups to discuss how Alberta is positioning itself at the forefront of innovation. 

While the conversation spanned several topics, AI’s transformative potential in healthcare was a key theme panelists returned to again, and again. 

Glubish, along with University of Calgary’s VP of Research, Dr. William Ghali, healthcare startup CEO Joella Almeida and Neel Dayal, head of innovation partnerships at Rogers Communications, shared insights on how Alberta’s unique healthcare system and investment in tech innovation could make it a leader in AI-driven medical advancements.

From predictive diagnostics to streamlined hospital operations, the panelists explored AI-powered solutions to some of Alberta’s biggest healthcare challenges.

Leveraging data for predictive healthcare

Alberta’s centralized healthcare data system, managed under Alberta Health Services, gives the province a unique edge in implementing large-scale, data-driven health solutions, Minister Glubish said. 

He shared details of a current pilot project the province is engaged in with a research partner that uses AI to help predict heart attacks. By analyzing population-level data, the pilot aims to identify individuals at high risk of heart attacks in order to recommend early interventions. 

“If we can stop people from going into the hospital with a heart attack, we can save the healthcare system hundreds of millions of dollars. We could save lives, which is even more important, and we can protect the quality of life for those folks who were at risk,” Glubish said, emphasizing AI’s potential to avert critical health events before they occur.

Dr. William Ghali, University of Calgary’s VP of Research — who is also a physician — echoed these sentiments, noting how AI is already enabling greater diagnostic precision in the province. “One of things AI does is it enhances accuracy,” he said. “So the likelihood of missing a subtle pneumonia, or missing a small lesion on a scan…of a mammogram being misread, or lesion being missed or pap smear being misread, is much lower now.”

AI’s ability to produce highly accurate, reproducible results aids healthcare providers in diagnosing patients with greater precision, ensuring timely, effective care while reducing human error, Ghali said.

Streamlining healthcare operations

Beyond diagnostics, AI plays a growing role in streamlining healthcare operations and improving patient care workflows. 

Joella Almeida, CEO of Calgary-based healthcare startup MedEssist, spoke about how AI is helping pharmacists manage patient care more efficiently, freeing up practitioners to focus on more critical work and patient support. 

AI is unlocking massive value in streamlining pharmacy operations, Almeida said, “looking up notes, building patient handouts, communicating with patients when they have the phone line ringing all day.”

MedEssist’s partnerships with tech giants like Google and Uber are also bringing digital booking and delivery services to Alberta’s pharmacies, increasing access to healthcare for patients who need it most, including those with limited mobility.

Almeida said, offering services that integrate pharmacy booking and delivery directly into Google’s search and Uber’s delivery platform, help to modernize pharmacy workflows and provide patients with timely access to medication.

Bridging healthcare gaps across Alberta

AI is also expanding healthcare accessibility in Alberta’s rural and remote areas. Neel Dayal, head of innovation partnerships at Rogers Communications, highlighted new AI-driven technologies that improve emergency responses and streamline hospital operations. 

“We’re a pretty large industrial partner to a number of academic institutions, including University of Calgary,” he explained.

“We just completed a trial on a remote ultrasound solution,” he said, and are working on other future healthcare innovations. 

These include, “transferring patient data, even being able to do some early diagnostics via mobile clinics. Being able to pass that data into the ER so they’re ready for the patient when they’re coming in accelerates the triaging and reduces the wait times,” said Dayal.

Building an inclusive and sustainable future with technology

At the kick-off event, Mayor of Calgary, Jyoti Gondek emphasized that Alberta’s push for innovation is about more than just technology; it’s about fostering a diverse and inclusive community that welcomes new ideas and talent. 

She said that Alberta has the strongest tech workforce in North America right now, and one that is only growing because of the commitment of tech talent to making the province — and the world — a better place. 

“Tech isn’t a sector in and of itself,” Gondek said.” Tech is table stakes. Tech is the reason that we can be better and stronger. It’s the way we can be more sustainable, it’s the way that we can take care of people’s health. It is everything.”

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