Staying abreast of, or even ahead of, how technology can transform organisations and enable those in leadership positions to do better for their staff, is essential. To that end, I am pleased to have been asked to write at some length about the use of artificial intelligence for occupational health in the latest Occupational Health at Work journal.
Artificial Intelligence for Occupational Health could transform employers’ capability to respond
The story of technology and digital information is rich and fascinating. It has laid the foundations for a new digital world which offers the opportunity to see, understand and utilise digital data in exciting ways.
Artificial intelligence has the potential to significantly impact how employers react to and manage the massive challenge of occupational health in the workplace. This is something that is ripe for new approaches, since the practice of OH has continued largely unchanged for many years.
Responding to occupational health issues is becoming non-negotiable for employers.
Leveraging the potential of innovation and artificial intelligence could make this easier, more effective and quicker, unlocking new understanding from workforce data, and providing organisations and their OH service providers with smart, responsive tools that go far beyond today’s simple clinical record keeping and scheduling systems.
All employers have a duty of care over their employees. Yet occupational health management and service provision can often be viewed as a costly, time-consuming extra.
There are implications from failing to step up on this issue, potentially threatening regulatory compliance and business continuity as well as impacting individuals. Unfortunately, organisations also face economic concerns and capability gaps. These mean that occupational health issues are often neglected, with negative consequences for both employees and employers.
Managing occupational health effectively should be a priority for every employer. Artificial intelligence for occupational health is an exciting prospect, potentially giving employers the technology to streamline the process of creating happier and healthier workplaces.
Artificial intelligence for OH could help employers transform health surveillance and empower clinicians
As I discuss in the article, artificial intelligence has the potential to transform occupational health management in a variety of ways.
A.I. will allow better use of resources for employers to manage and respond to OH issues quickly. Faster diagnostic capabilities and real-time health monitoring of workers will allow employers to tailor and manage their business operations in response to new insights as well as deliver swifter and more consistent support for individual health needs.
Of course, there will be challenges. These include data security and the need to balance the technical opportunities with current OH industry expertise.
Artificial intelligence for occupational health offers genuine opportunities for employers to create healthier workforces much more easily, but it’s important to use it in collaboration with other methods to actively promote future workplace health.
At Empactis, we understand the challenges facing employers managing occupational health and have created innovative software to support employers throughout this process, so they can create better employee health outcomes.
Iceberg of opportunities for occupational health
This is just the tip of an iceberg of opportunities that AI and other digital technologies can unlock for employers. For those that may wish to find out more, I will be speaking further about this topic at the Workplace Health 2019 conference in November – a conference that is always absolutely packed with value and up-to-date thinking and best practice on workplace health.
To read more about the exciting potential of artificial intelligence for occupational health, journal subscribers and those who choose to pay a small amount can also read the full article about Artificial Intelligence for Occupational Health on the Occupational Health at Work journal website.
