Navina's ethical approach to clinical AI

Of the myriad ways that technology is transforming healthcare delivery, empowering clinicians with Artificial Intelligence (AI) is surely one of the most exciting. But it’s also fraught with challenges and concerns because of healthcare practitioners’ responsibility towards their patients. In order to enshrine that sacred responsibility, the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) has developed eight key principles for the ethical use of AI in medicine. Navina, which develops AI-powered solutions for physicians, is committed to adhering to these principles, ensuring that its innovative tools are both cutting-edge and responsible.

1. Preserve and enhance the patient-physician relationship

The patient-physician relationship at the heart of primary care is irreplaceable and central to effective healthcare delivery. Navina’s AI turns chaotic patient data into actionable health insights, lightening physicians’ administrative burden so that they can spend more time with their patients, thus enhancing that bond.

The “four Cs” of primary care are another helpful prism through which to examine how Navina helps enhance primary care.

Continuity

Navina’s proficiency in reconciling and interpreting data from diverse sources–Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Health Information Exchange (HIEs), claims, and payer data–ensures that physicians have a coherent and comprehensive view of each patient's health journey, supporting informed decision-making and personalized care over time.

Coordination

By integrating into the entire care team's workflow, Navina fosters a collaborative approach to patient care, ensuring that every team member is on the same page.

Comprehensiveness

Navina’s AI transcends the traditional barriers of data overload. By turning vast amounts of multi-source data into concise Patient Portraits, it provides a holistic view of the patient's medical history, helping elevate the standard of care.

Contact

With a reduced administrative burden, physicians can spend more face time with their patients, enriching the quality of care and strengthening the physician-patient relationship.

2. Maximize transparency

Transparency in AI-powered healthcare solutions is critical because of the potentially profound implications on patient outcomes. Navina adheres to this principle by designing its AI to be transparent and understandable. Unlike the proverbial "black box" models, Navina's AI provides insights that are clearly explained and directly referenced to original clinical sources. This approach demystifies AI processes, fostering trust among clinicians and ensuring that AI-assisted decisions are made with clarity and confidence.

3. Address implicit bias

Navina acknowledges the moral imperative of addressing implicit bias and has instituted robust monitoring mechanisms to continually assess its AI-powered insights and suggestions. This proactive approach allows the company to quickly identify any unintentional biases and adjust the algorithms accordingly. Navina’s design philosophy goes beyond mere technical specifications and encompasses ethical, social, and clinical considerations, ensuring a holistic and responsible AI development process.

4. Maximize training data diversity

‍Navina’s commitment to protecting against implicit bias is also manifest in its meticulously curated datasets that are representative of the full spectrum of society. This diversity is crucial for developing AI models that provide equitable and relevant recommendations for all patient demographics, and are sensitive to the nuances of different patient populations. By incorporating a wide array of data points–from different geographic locations, socioeconomic backgrounds, and health conditions–Navina’s AI algorithms are trained to be as inclusive and effective as possible, in an effort to diminish health disparities rather than perpetuate them.

5. Respect the privacy of patients and users

Navina is unwavering in its commitment to safeguarding patient information. Recognizing the sensitive nature of healthcare data, Navina has built its AI platform with robust privacy and security frameworks, ensuring strict compliance with HIPAA and other relevant regulations. Annual evaluations by third-party auditors reinforce Navina's adherence to these stringent standards.

Navina’s commitment to data protection is further exemplified by its ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type II certification. These certifications are not mere formalities–they reflect Navina's deep-seated commitment to maintaining the highest standards of data security. The principle of least privilege and multi-factor authentication (MFA) are rigorously applied, ensuring that access to sensitive data is tightly controlled and monitored.

6. Take a systems view in design

‍Navina's AI solution is not an isolated tool; it’s an integrated component within a larger healthcare ecosystem. Designed to augment physicians’ workflows, Navina’s platform can either overlay or exist as a standalone tab within existing EHR systems. This integration is key to reducing the friction often associated with the adoption of new technologies.

Navina’s comprehensive Patient Profiles based on disparate, multi-source data further showcase the company’s commitment to a user-centered design, optimizing user experience and enabling clinicians to focus more on patient care and less on administrative tasks.

7. Take accountability

Navina embraces accountability as a cornerstone of trust and reliability. The company's proactive measures in continuously monitoring and assessing the AI system against FDA risk models reflect this commitment. Even though Navina's system is categorized as low risk, the company maintains a vigilant stance, prioritizing the safety and efficacy of the platform as it evolves.

8. Design for trustworthiness

For AI in healthcare to truly live up to its potential, it must first earn the trust of clinicians. For Navina, that means designing AI from the ground up to be accurate, reliable, and evidence-based. By linking every AI-driven suggestion back to original clinical sources, Navina ensures that physicians can validate and trust those suggestions. The high rate of acceptance of Navina’s diagnosis recommendations by physicians is a testament to this trust.

Navina's commitment to trustworthiness extends to the continuous updating of its AI models. The fine-tuning of these models, specifically designed for primary care, ensures that Navina’s AI solutions remain at the forefront of healthcare technology, aligning with the latest best practices and clinical guidelines.