Interviews: Brhmie Balaram, AI Research and Ethics Lead at NHSX AI Labs, Answers Five Key Questions
The UK's National Health Service (NHS) is embracing artificial intelligence (AI) to revolutionise healthcare, and at the forefront of this movement is the NHS AI Lab. Established in 2019, the Lab aims to accelerate the adoption of AI in health and adult social care services, with a focus on safety, ethics, and effectiveness.
The NHS AI Lab was born out of the need to address rising pressures on NHS pathology and diagnostics. Its mission is to transform and streamline healthcare processes through digital tools and automation platforms. One such example is the support of AI-powered diagnostic platforms, as showcased at key NHS conferences in 2025.
The Lab's efforts are aligned with a broader NHS strategy to modernise health data access, sharing, and patient engagement. By 2028, patient health records are expected to be consolidated via the NHS App and centralised electronic records. This move will enable efficient sharing and utilisation of patient data for care and research, all while ensuring ethical use and mitigating risks like data misuse or AI biases.
The NHS AI Lab is also delivering the AI in Health and Care Award, which supports innovators at various stages of development. This includes technologies like SamurAI, which explores the technical feasibility of using AI to provide advice on antibiotic usage, and advanced stage technologies such as Healthy.io, Brainomix, and Aidence. Healthy.io allows patients to detect early signs of kidney disease using their smartphones, Brainomix uses AI to interpret brain scans of acute stroke, and Aidence helps radiologists detect early lung cancer.
However, the integration of AI into healthcare isn't without challenges. To counter potential harms for minority ethnic communities and address racial and ethnic health inequalities, the AI Ethics Initiative has been launched. This initiative aims to develop guidelines and standards for organisations to audit AI solutions and ensure the inclusivity and generalizability of datasets for training and testing.
The AI Ethics Initiative also includes a public engagement element for patients and the public to contribute their perspectives on the impact of AI solutions. By working with healthcare practitioners, the public, and policymakers, the NHS AI Lab is building appropriate confidence in these technologies and ensuring they are trustworthy.
The ultimate goal of both the NHS AI Lab and the AI Ethics Initiative is to realise the potential of AI to transform people's outcomes for the better. By easing the pressure on the NHS, the social care sector, and their staff through the deployment of AI, these initiatives aim to improve patient experience, support the health and care workforce, and help NHS systems run more efficiently. In doing so, they hope to make the best use of capacity and resources in the healthcare sector, and use AI for forecasting purposes to anticipate and prepare for future demands.
The NHS AI Lab is also setting up a suite of programs in partnership with health and regulatory bodies in the UK to address the challenges of putting AI-driven technologies into practice. These programs will help ensure the safe, ethical, and effective deployment of AI within the NHS system, all while maintaining the quality of care.
AI can also be used for natural language processing to help read unstructured doctors' notes, and for computer vision to support the diagnosis of diseases and conditions using images, such as X-rays and CT scans. Furthermore, AIAs (Algorithmic Impact Assessments) are designed to prompt researchers and commercial developers to consider the legal, social, and ethical implications of their proposed AI solutions at an early stage.
In conclusion, the NHS AI Lab and AI Ethics Initiative are vital steps in the UK's journey towards harnessing the power of AI in healthcare. By focusing on safety, ethics, and effectiveness, these initiatives are paving the way for a future where AI can improve patient outcomes, support healthcare professionals, and transform the NHS for the better.
- The NHS AI Lab, established to accelerate AI adoption in healthcare, is focusing on revolutionizing healthcare and diagnostics within the UK's National Health Service (NHS).
- Integrated digital tools and automation platforms are being used by the NHS AI Lab to transform and streamline healthcare processes, aiding in the efficient sharing and utilization of patient data for care and research.
- One example of such digital tools is the support of AI-powered diagnostic platforms, as showcased at key NHS conferences in 2025.
- In the broad context of modernizing health data, the NHS aims to consolidate patient health records via the NHS App and centralized electronic records by 2028.
- To mitigate risks like data misuse or AI biases, the NHS AI Lab has launched the AI Ethics Initiative, which develops guidelines for auditing AI solutions and ensures the inclusivity and generalizability of datasets.
- The AI Ethics Initiative also focuses on public engagement, allowing patients and the public to contribute their perspectives on the impact of AI solutions, working towards building appropriate trust in these technologies.
