Belgian hospitals use AI to make medical reports understandable
Three Belgian hospitals have developed an artificial intelligence application designed to help patients understand their medical reports. The hospitals involved are the Antwerp hospital group ZAS, AZ Maria Middelares in Ghent, and UZ Brussel.
The initiative responds to a longstanding problem: patients routinely receive medical reports and discharge letters written in language that is difficult or impossible to understand. The new application addresses this by producing a jargon-free version of each document. When patients receive their report, they are given both the standard version and an AI-generated plain-language equivalent.
The benefits are considerable. Patients gain a clearer understanding of their health situation, are able to ask more targeted questions during consultations, and show better adherence to their treatment. There is also a privacy advantage: patients no longer need to share sensitive medical information with commercial platforms such as ChatGPT.
Not a replacement
Patients, and if they wish, their families or carers, can access the plain-language versions via government health portals or a patient portal. The simplified versions are not reviewed by doctors and are intended to supplement, not replace, the original report or direct communication with a physician.
For now, the application is being tested exclusively by ZAS patients with rheumatic and kidney conditions, a group that generates around 40,000 medical reports per year. In the first phase, the application is available in Dutch, French and English, with additional languages and medical specialties to follow. The application was developed with the support of the Federal Public Service Health.
#FlandersNewsService | © BELGA PHOTO DIRK WAEM
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