HA taps into AI in fight against superbug infections

The Hospital Authority will harness the power of artificial intelligence to improve the way it prescribes drugs, and fight the spread of superbugs.

The authority pointed out that Hong Kong has seen an uptick in drug-resistant pathogens caused by an increased use of antibiotics during the Covid pandemic.

Its chief infection control officer, Raymond Lai, explained that bacteria and fungi are adapting and becoming more resistant to antibiotics, warning that such pathogens can be lethal.

“If patients are infected with multi-drug resistant organisms, they would be associated with high chance of mortality. There are limited choices for the antibiotic treatments because they are multi-drug resistant, and even if you find suitable antibiotics, always they are associated with some side effects of the antibiotics.”

Lai pointed out that AI will boost the ability of the authority’s Antibiotic Stewardship Programme – set up to suppress the emergence of antimicrobial resistance – to monitor antibiotic prescriptions in public hospitals, and notify doctors if a prescription contradicts patients’ medication history, known allergens, or previous infections with drug-resistant pathogens.

“[If] the patient is prescribed with the broad spectrum of antibiotics, then [a message will pop up] in the prescription system, computer system, to alert or to remind doctors to review whether there is a need to [maintain] or switch to another antibiotics with a narrower spectrum.”

Lai added that the AI-enhanced programme can also save time in analysing antibiotic prescriptions and monitoring trends related to drug-resistant microorganisms.

The improved programme will initially be implemented at Prince of Wales Hospital and Princess Margaret Hospital in January, with plans to expand its coverage to a total of 17 hospitals by March.