• AI-driven tools, such as predictive analytics and machine learning algorithms, are helping clinicians derive patient insights to improve patient outcomes
• A study published in JAMA revealed that AI systems can identify diseases from medical images with an accuracy of up to 94%
• The inaugural Digital Health & AI Forum at Arab Health 2025 highlighted the immense potential of AI to revolutionise patient care and improve outcomes

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 27 January 2025: Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming healthcare delivery by providing innovative solutions to long-standing challenges in diagnostics, disease prevention, and care delivery. During the inaugural Digital Health & AI Forum at Arab Health 2025, leading experts in AI innovation discussed its transformastive impact on improving patient outcomes.

Held under the theme ‘Connected health solutions: Unlocking the AI and digital health potential’, the one-day Digital Health & AI Forum highlighted how AI is becoming an essential tool in modern medicine.

Ross Williams, Senior Exhibition Director at Informa Markets, said: “Arab Health continues to serve as a global platform for showcasing transformative technologies. The Digital Health & AI Forum has demonstrated the immense potential of AI to revolutionise patient care and improve outcomes. Meanwhile, The Future Health Summit will further these vital conversations by bringing together world leaders to explore groundbreaking advancements.'

AI-driven tools, such as predictive analytics and machine learning algorithms, are assisting clinicians in gaining patient insights to improve patient outcomes. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that AI systems could identify diseases from medical images with up to 94% accuracy.

Speaking during the forum, Dr David Rhew, Global Chief Medical Officer and VP of Healthcare, Microsoft, said: “One example of how AI is enabling better patient care involves AI applied on retinal images to diagnose diabetic retinopathy and potentially other diseases, including cardiovascular, neurovascular, and ophthalmologic conditions. In addition, agentic AI has enabled automated image capture, meaning that image capture devices could potentially be placed in primary care clinics, retail stores, schools, and malls.”

In the coming decade, AI is set to transform healthcare by enhancing personalized care, promoting disease prevention, and improving operational efficiency. AI-powered tools will empower both patients and providers to make better-informed decisions, enabling the early identification of diseases and improving efficiency by allowing risk stratification, data triage, and targeted resource allocation.

Dr Rhew also highlighted that adopting AI requires overcoming barriers like workflow disruptions. “If the AI slows the clinician down, adds more work for the clinician, or is not easy to use, clinicians will not adopt it. Conversely, AI that makes the clinician more efficient, reduces administrative tasks, and is seamless is likely to be well adopted.

“We are already seeing this with ambient clinician intelligence (ACI). ACI captures the conversation between a patient and a clinician, seamlessly converts the conversation into a clinician note and enables integration of the note into the electronic health record (EHR),” he added.

The Digital Health & AI Forum sets the stage for an even deeper exploration of AI’s transformative role in healthcare at The Future Health Summit, which will take place on 30 January 2025 at the Museum of the Future in Dubai. This exclusive event will bring together senior government officials, healthcare executives, and technology leaders from Google, GE HealthCare, Amazon Web Services, and PureHealth, among others, to explore the power of AI in shaping global healthcare systems.

Arab Health's 50th-anniversary celebrations continue on the 28th, 29th and 30th of January 2025 at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC). With over 3,800 exhibitors from more than 70 countries and an expected expected attendance of over 60,000 healthcare visitors, the region’s largest and most influential healthcare event and congress reinforces its impact on the regional economy and health sector.