AI in Tenerife healthcare… useful tool or just more noise?
There was a conference this week at the University of La Laguna, held by Fundación Mémora and the HUC, looking at how artificial intelligence is starting to creep into everyday healthcare.
About 150 people turned up… mostly healthcare and social care professionals, so not just a room full of tech people talking to themselves.
What they were actually talking about
The focus wasn’t “robots replacing doctors” or anything dramatic like that.
It was more grounded.
How AI can support clinical decisions
How it can speed things up behind the scenes
How it might help personalise care a bit more
All the practical stuff that, if it works properly, makes life easier for both staff and patients.
The reality of it
They had a couple of main talks.
One looking at the bigger picture… digital health, systems, where things are heading.
The other a bit more technical… how AI actually fits into real hospital settings, including things like improving how medication is managed in operating theatres.
Which is where it starts to get interesting… because that’s not theory, that’s day-to-day use.
The usual concern… are people being replaced?
This always comes up.
And to be fair, they addressed it head on.
The general message was pretty clear… AI isn’t there to replace healthcare professionals.
It’s there to support them.
Reduce workload, help with decisions, remove some of the guesswork… and ideally give staff more time to actually focus on patients.
Sounds good on paper.
The bigger picture
There’s definitely potential.
Better use of resources
More personalised treatment
Less admin dragging everything down
But… and there’s always a but… it depends how it’s implemented.
Because anyone who’s dealt with systems in Spain knows… introducing new tech doesn’t always mean things get quicker overnight.
One thing to take away
AI in healthcare isn’t some future concept anymore.
It’s already being tested, discussed, and slowly worked into the system here in Tenerife.
Whether it makes things better or just adds another layer of complexity… that’s the bit we’ll see over time.