Digital Health and AI 2024

Digital Health and AI: Ushering in a New Era of Employee Productivity and Well-Being BRIEFING PAPER NOVEMBER 2024 Opportunities to enhance health and productivity Improved personal health using data, wearable technologies and AI For more than a decade, digital health technologies such as smartphone apps and wearables have been expanding in scope and scale. AI algorithms are increasingly being developed to improve the self-management of health conditions. Ideally, AI-powered wearable technologies that track vital signs alert the wearer to abnormalities at an early stage, and before they feel unwell. Targeted information then offers opportunities to improve the management of both new and existing conditions. Importantly, by embedding behavioural psychology principles into the design and delivery of AI-driven advice, users can go beyond just following their numbers, towards sustainably changing their habits to achieve better health. Engagement of individual workers/patients in self-management of chronic disease risks is critical to achieving sustained improvements in health outcomes. This includes involving them in decisions about treatment options and healthy lifestyle choices. Several studies have shown positive impacts on health risks from the use of wearables in the management of cardiovascular disease1 and diabetes mellitus.2 Studies in Japan have demonstrated the utility of AI-based screening tools to identify workers suffering from psychological distress with similar accuracy to psychiatrists.3 With reports of increased burn-out among managers and workers at 35% and 43% respectively in a recent global corporate survey,4 identifying those at risk early and fast-tracking to appropriate interventions can have significant benefits for both individuals and organizations. Despite these encouraging signs from evaluation of wearables and AI-driven advice, more research is needed to demonstrate whether the results are generalizable to wider populations, and whether they lead to sustained health outcomes. At an organizational level, a healthy and engaged workforce, whose members feel supported by their employer to achieve shared wellness goals, have repeatedly been shown to be more productive.5 Therefore, workforce well-being programmes or packages that cover individual purchases of wearables or well- being software and subscriptions may become beneficial and empowering to employees. Throughout history, advances in technology have augmented, enhanced and reshaped human labour to drive improvements in productivity and economic growth. Unfortunately, they have also had unforeseen, negative health impacts, many appearing years later and disproportionately affecting individuals from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. While innovators and entrepreneurs may reap significant economic rewards from technological advancement, it is often the front-line workers who have suffered adverse health effects from exposure to hazardous substances, poor working conditions and increasing work pressure. As society navigates this Fourth Industrial Revolution, the opportunity to use artificial intelligence (AI) to change the world of work and health for good holds immense promise. At the same time, extra vigilance is needed to identify the risks of potential harms at the earliest opportunity and to ensure they are mitigated. From a worker and workplace perspective and across different groups of employees (in both white collar and blue collar positions), the positive impacts of digital health and AI on workforce health, well-being and productivity can be considered in three areas: –Improved personal health using data, wearable technologies and AI –Early detection of exposure to harmful workplace substances and improved safety standards –Enhanced access to affordable healthcare Areas for further focus and extra vigilance include: –Workforce dissatisfaction and anxiety related to job loss/disruption –Bias in datasets driving AI-based decision-making and inequitable distribution of benefits –Data privacy, information security and ethical concerns –Quality of evidence for sustainable behavioural change and health outcomes from using wellness tools