The reception of A.I. in the Medico-Social sector in France

Although Artificial Intelligence (AI) has existed since the 1950s, it has experienced a remarkable acceleration in its uses in recent years, in particular with the opening of ChatGPT to the general public at the end of 2022.

Its development has permeated all sectors, including the most traditional ones, such as health and social care. However, the integration of AI in these environments seems to be progressing more slowly than in others. How to meet the challenges it raises?

Let's explore current uses, their impacts on professions, ethical issues, as well as concrete benefits for residents and caregivers.

Uses and potentialities of AI in nursing homes and institutions with disabilities

Practical applications of AI

In NURSING HOME or Disability institution, the uses of AI are varied. They range from administrative management (stocks, entries and exits) to more sophisticated tools that are revolutionizing care in medico-social institutions.

Faced with challenges such as a lack of staff, many NURSING HOME adopt technologies that go beyond simple health call or fall prevention devices. For example, The Augmented Ear of Caregivers makes it possible to detect a wide range of emergency situations, while helping teams to anticipate the deterioration of residents' health through a personalized approach. This inclusive technology adapts to varying degrees of dependency, a crucial issue for these institutions.

AI is also finding advanced applications in clinical decision support. Deep learning models that can assist doctors based on medical databases.

AI and improving care practices

AI is helping to transform care practices, in particular through data analysis. These analyses allow healthcare teams to quickly adapt care according to the evolution of the health status of residents in NURSING HOME and disabled establishments.

For example, The Augmented Ear of Caregivers Offer a Alert tracking by room, thus facilitating medical diagnosis. A resident whose sleep is disturbed or who wanders more frequently can be identified quickly, allowing doctors to respond accordingly.

In addition, the centralization of data through AI improves coordination between teams by NURSING HOME and disabled establishments. This continuity in the sharing of information, especially between day and night teams, reinforces the quality of transmissions and, ultimately, the follow-up of residents.

Prevention and well-being of residents

Finally, one of the most sought-after points by those who deploy this solution in their health institutions: Prevention.

Indeed, many directors ofNURSING HOME see AI as proactive surveillance, making it possible to prevent incidents and hospitalizations. This includes falls (for example, by planning targeted passages into the rooms of the most vulnerable residents upon waking up), crises, or even respiratory distress that may worsen.

By anticipating these situations, AI plays a key role in the well-being of residents while reducing the workload of caregivers. It also appears to be an indispensable tool for the 4Ps of tomorrow's medicine: Personalized, Preventive, Predictive, and Participative.

The impacts of AI in healthcare organizations and professions

Organization of care

As in any field adopting Artificial Intelligence, a gradual reorganization is taking place around its uses and the benefits it brings.

One of the major consequences observed in establishments using The Augmented Ear of Caregivers is the suppression of some systematic rounds. This is the essence of AI: to offload time-consuming and low-value-added tasks to free up time for the benefit of the care relationship and personalized support of residents in NURSING HOME. Caregivers can thus intervene in a targeted and relevant manner, for example by going to the rooms when residents are awake, rather than risking disturbing their sleep.

For doctors, as mentioned earlier, the data provided by alerts enrich their information base, thus improving the accuracy of diagnoses and allowing new uses in their daily practice.

However, a reorganization involving structural changes requires specific support from the teams. Training can be essential to ensure a smooth and effective transition. As such, our customer service is committed to health institutions on a daily basis to facilitate this adoption.

The benefits in the medico-social

As with any major technological revolution, the main objective of AI is to automate tasks that are repetitive and have low added value. AI is in no way intended to replace doctors or caregivers, but to support their practice.

Thus, as pointed out by Dr. Marie Lamandé, a geriatrician atNURSING HOME René Fortin, during a report broadcast in The Health Magazine on France 5:

“The Follow-up Report allows us to validate our intuitions, but the expertise is ours.”

She adds:

“While the teams initially questioned ethics, they quickly realized that the tool responded to a clear mechanism, protecting the conversations of residents, their families, and caregivers.”

In addition to saving significant time for caregivers, AI allows better management of resources for health managers, whether in terms of equipment or the distribution of personnel.

Finally, for residents of NURSING HOME and disabled establishments, AI guarantees better respect for their sleep and privacy, while ensuring their safety at all times. This peace of mind is also reassuring for families.

Issues and challenges to be met for nursing homes and disabled establishments

Brakes and resistances

In a field as sensitive as health, where the challenges concern both the diagnosis and the protection of personal data, caution is essential. This cautious approach explains why the adoption of AI in this sector is slower than in others. It requires rigorous experimentation, accompanied by sufficient hindsight to assess its impacts, while maintaining a high level of vigilance.

One of the main obstacles to the deployment of AI in health and social institutions remains the financing. If some NURSING HOME private companies can finance themselves; public institutions often have to rely on external aid. This may include non-renewable credits or funding obtained through calls for projects led by local actors, which can slow down their adoption of new technologies.

Ethical questions

Ethics is also a central and delicate issue in the deployment of Artificial Intelligence. This problem is divided into two main areas: on the one hand, the objective and the implications of the tools themselves, and on the other hand, the intentions and the approach adopted by NURSING HOME and other EMS who choose to integrate them.

At OSO-AI, privacy protection and the assurance that no “cops” Caregivers not being provided are top priorities. These values are integrated from the design of the proposed solutions. It is critical that institutions that adopt these systems do so in a respectful manner that focuses on improving the well-being of residents and health care teams.

As Jean-Baptiste Mïs, director of establishments at AFIPH, and Corentine Le Goff, director of the health and accommodation department, pointed out during the deployment of The Augmented Ear of Caregivers :

“The interests of residents and caregivers converge: being well at work makes it possible to better accomplish one's missions.”

This ethical approach, combined with tangible benefits for residents and staff, is crucial to lifting resistance and reassuring the actors concerned.