The İnnova Project Governance Summit, organized by İnnova in Ankara, brought together the top of the technology and health worlds with the theme of “Leadership Empowered by Artificial Intelligence”. Deputy Minister of Health Assoc. Prof. made one of the most remarkable speeches at the event. Dr. Şuayip Biri reveals with concrete numbers how the digitalization process in the healthcare system has undergone a great evolution with artificial intelligence.

In particular, the high economic savings achieved with the huge data pool of the e-Pulse ecosystem, the dramatic decreases in the use of incorrect medications, and the revolutionary success rates achieved in early diagnosis prove the vital role of technology in the healthcare industry. The fact that Türkiye is one of the leading countries in Europe in the field of digital government services once again reveals the importance of this established technological infrastructure.

• Deputy Minister of Health Assoc. Dr. Şuayip Biri explains that thanks to the integration of e-Nabız and Medula systems, a great financial advantage exceeding 400 billion liras has been provided to the public.

• Thanks to digital tracking systems and value-based approaches, incorrect antibiotic use, which threatens public health, decreases by 24 percent and painkiller consumption decreases by 38 percent.

• With artificial intelligence-based image scanning algorithms, the hospital admission rate for late-stage (4th and 5th stage) breast cancer cases is reduced from 1 in 5 to 1 in 200, taking a giant step forward in early diagnosis.

Health Infrastructure Based on Big Data and Artificial Intelligence

The digital transformation in health, which Turkey has been pursuing with determination since 2003, is based on a huge infrastructure such as e-Pulse, which has more than 80 million active users today. Stating that the system has been logged in 9.4 billion times to date, First states that physicians have used this infrastructure 18 billion times to manage and follow the condition of their patients. More than 450 million prescriptions and 12 billion diagnostic records in the system show that the health department has a huge data power that can improve diagnosis and treatment processes.

By integrating wearable technologies into the system, more than 9 billion sensor data of 14 million citizens are processed instantly with the help of artificial intelligence. This huge data stack combines with artificial intelligence algorithms that scan radiological images retrospectively, preventing patients from receiving unnecessary radiation again. Thanks to the measures taken and digital integration, the need for radiological imaging is reduced by 30 percent on a national basis.

Digital Revolution and Health Savings in Pharmaceutical Consumption

Unconscious drug use is one of the most devastating health problems for our country as well as globally. According to the information shared at the summit, approximately 42 thousand people die annually due to incorrect use of antibiotics.

However, thanks to the digital improvements and information-based management made by the Ministry of Health in the family medicine system, this situation is rapidly changing. Organizing family physicians according to the condition and disease burden of the patients connected to them; It reduces the use of painkillers by 38 percent, the use of stomach protectors by 28 percent and the use of antibiotics by 24 percent.

These consumption rates, which other countries have been able to reduce by only 4 percent with massive campaigns, reveal how digital systems directly protect human health.

The Need for a Second Brain in an Age Where Medical Knowledge Is Rapidly Renewed

Today, the renewal rate of health data and medical information reaches levels that the human brain cannot keep up with. While in the 1950s it took 50 years for medical knowledge to become obsolete and double itself, today this period has decreased to 73 days. In fact, experts predict that this period will even fall below 1 month by 2050. At such a speed, it becomes impossible for a doctor to fully follow all the current articles, treatment protocols or case histories in the world.

At this point, artificial intelligence comes into play as the “second brain” of healthcare professionals. Smart algorithms that analyze all the patient’s past analysis results, genetic predispositions and disease patterns give critical warnings to the physician regarding early diagnosis.

Thanks to the new artificial intelligence assistant, which will be activated within e-Pulse in the coming months, citizens will directly receive qualified feedback about their own diseases. While this development reduces unnecessary density in hospitals, it also increases the general health informatics literacy of the society.

Artificial Intelligence Vision and Ethical Boundaries in Leadership

Another important issue that technology managers frequently underline at the İnnova Project Governance Summit is data security and artificial intelligence ethics. Assoc. Dr. Şuayip Biri points out that data is a huge power, but if it is not managed correctly, it can turn into a strategic threat.

It is emphasized that in digitalization processes, it is necessary to always put people at the center of the system. Although artificial intelligence offers real decision-making tools to a physician or manager, it remains the president’s mission to add conscience and a human touch to the cold mathematics of that information.

According to the European Committee reports, Türkiye, which ranks fourth in digital government services after Malta, Luxembourg and Estonia, is taking decisive steps in its vision of exporting technology.

Turkey’s success against these countries, which falls behind even the quarterly patient volume of a single city hospital in our country when compared on a population basis, proves how strong the established system is. In the global artificial intelligence market, which will reach hundreds of billions of dollars in the coming period, such giant projects that process health data in an ethical and transparent framework continue to make our country a leader in the field of technology.