Artificial intelligence is moving more deeply into clinical care, bringing increased focus on evidence, quality assurance, data governance and interoperability, according to CSIRO’s Australian e-Health Research Centre’s 2026 AI Trends for Healthcare report.
The report covers areas including clinical decision support, medical imaging, disease management and personalised care, and includes nine case studies of AI being used in healthcare.
It also looks at emerging areas including multimodal AI and AI-assisted software development, alongside issues such as regulation, quality management, data governance and interoperability.
AEHRC CEO and research director Dr David Hansen said AI had for many years largely operated “under the hood” of healthcare.
“Today, growing public awareness, rapid advances in generative AI and increasing confidence in the safe and responsible use of AI bring the technology well into the spotlight,” Dr Hansen said.
The report says the increasing use of AI-powered tools will require stronger evidence, quality assurance and trusted standards to ensure systems are safe and effective in healthcare settings.
Interoperability is also highlighted as a key issue, including the role of national digital health standards and work being undertaken through Sparked, Australia’s FHIR accelerator.
The report says these standards will be important in allowing new AI technologies to integrate with existing health systems and support the exchange of information across healthcare.
Dr Hansen said responsible innovation, evidence and collaboration would be critical as healthcare entered a new phase of AI adoption.
“As healthcare systems increasingly rely on AI-powered tools, the need for robust evidence, quality assurance and trusted standards has never been greater,” he said.
The report is intended to provide researchers, policymakers and industry with an overview of current developments and emerging directions for AI in healthcare.
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