What You Should Know:
– Avanade, a Microsoft solutions provider, and Duke Health announced a strategic partnership to design, build, and implement Avanade’s Smart AI Governance Engine (SAIGE).
– SAIGE is a first-of-its-kind, healthcare-specific AI governance platform that will leverage the power of Microsoft Azure and Microsoft Fabric to advance Duke Health’s commitment to maintaining the highest ethical and responsible standards while deploying artificial intelligence in clinical settings.
– The strategic initiative aims to provide a standardized and trustworthy framework for the rapidly evolving use of AI in healthcare, ensuring that new technologies are implemented safely and effectively.
Addressing the Critical Need for Standardized AI Governance in Healthcare
The healthcare industry has seen a surge in AI applications, but the development of standardized governance processes to ensure responsible implementation has lagged. SAIGE is designed to fill this critical gap.
“The healthcare industry currently lacks a standardized governance process to implement trustworthy AI responsibly,” said Dr. Michael Pencina, Duke Health’s chief data scientist. “We’re excited to have the opportunity to leverage our expertise and our Algorithmic-Based Clinical Decision Support (ABCDS) methodology as the basis for a scalable platform.”
SAIGE: Empowering Responsible and Transparent AI Implementation
The SAIGE platform will empower healthcare AI professionals to shepherd new AI models through a standardized governance process. This ensures that AI tools are responsibly integrated into clinical workflows, with a strong emphasis on traceability and transparency.
The platform is particularly beneficial for institutions that currently rely on manual governance methods—such as spreadsheets, email, and chat—or smaller organizations that may lack dedicated resources for comprehensive AI development and evaluation. AI model owners will benefit from enhanced digital collaboration tools, enabling them to seamlessly gather necessary metadata from AI developers.
Fostering Innovation Through a Digital AI Collaboration Space
A key component of the SAIGE initiative will be a digital AI collaboration space, slated for launch in 2025. This space will allow for the quick and secure exchange of information and the testing of AI models among developers and various healthcare institutions, fostering a collaborative environment for innovation in the field.
A Strategic Alliance Built on Microsoft Technologies
Avanade, with its deep expertise as a Microsoft partner, is uniquely positioned to bring this platform to life. “As a Microsoft partner, Avanade is uniquely positioned to collaborate effectively with Duke Health to use Microsoft’s platform that digitizes the proven AI compliance methodology developed by Duke,” said Lee Ayling, Managing Director, Accenture/Avanade. “Our efforts extend beyond creating the technical platform; we are also establishing a customer service organization to assist healthcare providers and AI vendors in registering, accessing and sharing AI algorithms to drive improved clinical outcomes for healthcare users across the United States.”
The full breadth of Avanade’s capabilities, spanning its strategic advisory, Avanade X, and technology business groups, is being invested to build, commercialize, and operate the SAIGE platform for its customers.
