SSM executive urges ministry providers to ensure they’re using data ethically

Data Ethics And Catholic Health Care

Six principles identified by the Vatican as inherent to the ethical use of artificial intelligence:

TRANSPARENCY Systems must be explainable.

INCLUSION The needs of all human beings must be taken into consideration.

RESPONSIBILITY Designers and deployers must have accountability.

IMPARTIALITY

Bias should not be created or employed.

RELIABILITY Systems must work reliably.

SECURITY AND PRIVACY Systems must be secure and users’ privacy respected.

Source: Rome Call for AI Ethics, 2020

By JULIE MINDA

There is a massive amount of data that providers generate in the delivery of health care, and much of that data is highly sensitive, personal information. A lot of the data is so valuable that third-party companies are willing to pay handsomely to access it. Given these and other dynamics of the digital data environment, it is important, in the view of Michael Miller, SSM Health system vice president of mission and ethics, that all health care organizations be extremely careful about how they handle data.

In a webinar titled “Data and Ethics in Health Care,” Miller said it is essential for Catholic health care organizations in particular to thoroughly vet and monitor all plans and implementations for data use from an ethical perspective.

Describing the value of health care