How UAE’s M42 is redefining healthcare through AI

Abu Dhabi-based global healthcare giant M42 is at the forefront of transforming healthcare delivery by leveraging cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) to improve physician productivity, diagnostic accuracy and patient outcomes.

With a background in medicine and global health research from renowned institutions like Harvard and Oxford University, Dr Maaz Shaikh is the VP of Product Management at M42. Dr Shaikh leads the development of innovative digital health solutions at the company and has played a key role in developing Med42, a suite of clinical large language model (LLM) -powered tools designed to enhance medical practice with safe, scalable and impactful AI solutions.

In this interview, Dr Shaikh shares his insights into how AI is reshaping the global healthcare landscape, M42’s innovative role in this transformation, and the future potential of AI in addressing some of healthcare’s most pressing challenges.

How is AI reshaping the healthcare industry and what are the key challenges that persist?

Artificial intelligence, advances in diagnostics, administrative workflow optimisation, personalised treatment options and predictive healthcare are reshaping the industry like never before. However, challenges such as sustainability concerns and labour shortages continue to persist.

M42 is addressing these challenges by leveraging AI and digital technologies to transform healthcare delivery. Despite these innovations, there is a need for healthcare professionals to embrace these tools, as adoption can be met with resistance. It is crucial to ensure AI-driven healthcare solutions are implemented cost-effectively, especially in low-resource settings. Ultimately, AI and digital technologies, when combined with human expertise, hold the power to revolutionise healthcare.

How have AI and digital technology revolutionised healthcare?

AI and digital technologies are revolutionising healthcare, driving improvements in care, outcomes and cost efficiency. One key innovation is predictive analytics, where AI analyses large datasets to predict patient outcomes, identify high-risk individuals, and optimise resource allocation. It can predict patient readmissions, manage chronic diseases, and even anticipate future disease outbreaks.

Digital technology has transformed healthcare, revolutionising personalised medicine by combining AI with genetic, clinical and lifestyle data to tailor treatments. During Covid-19, telemedicine surged, enhanced by AI-driven tools like symptom checkers and virtual assistants.

In diagnostics, AI achieves radiologist-level accuracy in scan analysis and automates tasks like scheduling, billing, and record-keeping, freeing professionals to focus on patient care.

Generative AI, speech recognition, and imaging AI further ease workflows by automating clinical documentation, alleviating administrative burdens, and reducing physician burnout.

How would you describe the current global healthcare landscape?

The current healthcare landscape is complex globally as it is rapidly evolving to recover from the post-Covid phase. The pandemic affected the healthcare ecosystem of countries in a unique manner, amplifying its existing challenges and gaps.

The overburdened health systems in developing countries were further overwhelmed, leading to workforce burnout. In developing countries, the existing deficits in the health workforce and supplies were amplified, widening the access and health equity gaps. Recovering from such a critical juncture will require transformative changes to the health ecosystem.

While innovations are improving care delivery and outcomes, challenges like health inequities, rising costs, and new patterns and threats from rising chronic conditions underscore the urgent need for transformative changes to create resilient, inclusive, and adaptive healthcare systems.

In response, health systems across the world are undergoing a transformation like never before, driven by AI and supported by other technological advancements, demographic shifts, and changing patient behaviours and needs. The Covid-19 pandemic introduced new ways of working, accelerating the adoption of solutions for telemedicine and remote delivery.

From administrative tasks to patient care, AI is playing an instrumental role in enhancing the efficiency of healthcare processes. Growing health and wellness awareness in younger populations is driving a shift towards preventive and personalised care. The accessibility of genomics has made personalised medicine and biomarker use central to diagnosis, treatment planning, and driving new drug discoveries.

What healthcare challenges need addressing and why is there a need for sustainable solutions that are applicable across the world?

Ageing populations in high-income countries are straining healthcare systems, overburdening clinicians, and reducing care quality. AI can automate administrative tasks, freeing clinicians to focus on patient care and fostering better patient-doctor relationships. This shift enables a move from reactive to proactive, precision-based care, improving outcomes.

In developing countries, chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular conditions now lead to mortality rates, compounded by threats like antimicrobial resistance and zoonotic diseases. Many healthcare systems lack the resources and workforce to manage this burden, with the World Health Organisation (WHO) projecting a global shortage of 10 million healthcare workers by 2030. Rural and underserved populations face severe health inequities, often lacking basic care. Deploying AI can empower clinicians with decision support for diagnosis and treatment, enhancing their capabilities and addressing these disparities through more equitable resource distribution.

Sustainability is vital for healthcare, where rising costs from new therapies challenge affordability. AI-driven drug discovery and testing offer a promising way to accelerate innovation, improve outcomes, and reduce costs, ensuring accessible care for all. This should be a priority for everyone, including healthcare companies like ours.

The healthcare sector is a top global emitter of greenhouse gases, consuming vast energy and water and generating significant waste. According to Health Care Without Harm, if healthcare were a country, it would rank among the top ten largest emitters of greenhouse gases globally. Adopting green practices, reducing waste, and integrating renewable energy can create a healthier planet and healthier populations.

Can you share some of M42’s key contributions to improving healthcare in the region?

M42 is leveraging AI and digital technologies to address critical healthcare challenges. One of its key innovations is AIRIS-TB, an AI-powered imaging tool to digitise X-rays and pathology, improving accuracy and efficiency.

Tuberculosis (TB), a leading cause of death, remains a global health threat. The WHO aims to end the TB epidemic by 2030, making screenings essential. In May 2024, M42 launched AIRIS-TB, an AI-based chest X-ray screening tool for TB. Since its introduction, the Capital Health Screening Centre (CHSC) has expanded its capabilities, conducting up to 2,000 AI-assisted chest X-rays, which is ten times more than before. The AI system boasts 99.73 per cent sensitivity in distinguishing normal from abnormal chest images, reducing diagnostic time and enabling radiologists to focus on complex cases. This expansion accelerates the early detection and treatment of TB.

Artificial intelligence-powered screening tools like AIRIS-TB have the potential to scale operations and improve diagnostic accuracy globally. These systems can reduce radiologists’ workload by up to 80 per cent while ensuring comprehensive TB detection. The technology could also be trained to identify other conditions, like lung cancer, pneumonia, and emphysema, further expanding AI’s role in health diagnostics. In developing country settings, AI tools like AIRIS-TB can empower scaling screening programmes for these conditions at both population and national levels even with a limited number of radiologists.

Additionally, M42 has integrated with telemedicine platforms to improve access to healthcare, especially in remote areas. These platforms include the BioButton remote monitoring wearable, an award-winning product developed by BioIntelliSense. The BioButton tracks vital signs like heart rate, respiratory rate, skin temperature, and other biometrics. Dr James Mault, founder and CEO of BioIntelliSense, and an advisory board member of M42, has led the successful launch of the device, which has conducted over a billion vital sign measurements across the world.

Med42, a large language model developed by M42, aims to improve healthcare by providing AI-powered insights. Med42’s latest version scored 94.5 per cent in a zero-shot evaluation of USMLE Sample Exam questions, which reflects its high performance in understanding medical information and data and its ability to provide clinically backed responses to medical questions. The availability of cutting-edge and clinically reliable AI technology like Med42 can power multiple purpose-specific solutions for some of the most pressing global health challenges. These include reducing the administrative burden on clinicians, enabling healthcare professionals to dedicate more time to building meaningful relationships with their patients, improving diagnostic accuracy, and supporting patients in self-care outside clinical interactions with personalised, evidence-based materials.

M42 is also advancing personalised healthcare through initiatives like the Emirati Genome Programme (EGP) using genetics, precision medicine, and AI-powered solutions to improve the early detection of genetic disorders, and the overall wellbeing of the Emirati population.

Beyond Malaffi, (Abu Dhabi’s health information exchange platform) M42 is partnering with global organisations, research institutes, and technology companies to drive innovations in genomics, AI and preventive healthcare. These efforts align with regional and global priorities through partnerships such as those with the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi.

Despite the advances in AI, what areas still require improvement in digital health adoption?

Despite significant progress in AI and digital health, challenges remain. Data integration and interoperability are key hurdles, as siloed healthcare systems hinder comprehensive, patient-centred care. Additionally, establishing robust regulatory frameworks is crucial for safe AI implementation, ensuring patient safety, data privacy, and responsible technology use. Without these safeguards, AI deployment could lead to unintended consequences.

Reducing bias in AI algorithms is also critical. These systems can inherit biases from the data they are trained on, potentially contributing to disparities in care. Ensuring AI delivers fair and impartial outcomes is essential for the healthcare industry. M42 has developed the MEDIC Framework for evaluating LLMs across critical domains — Medical Accuracy, Ethics and Bias, Data Understanding, In-Context Learning and Clinical Safety. This framework places ethics and bias at its core in AI development and implementation.

AI tool training and adoption must balance utility, safety, and clinician workload, addressing resistance to change and ensuring professionals can use technology effectively while retaining clinical discretion.

Affordability and accessibility, particularly in low-resource settings, are essential for equitable access to AI-driven healthcare solutions, promoting global healthcare equity and enabling all populations to benefit from technological advancements.

Looking to the future, what is the potential for AI to further revolutionise healthcare, and how is M42 contributing to this vision?

AI has the potential to revolutionise healthcare, much like the invention of X-rays and antibiotics. By analysing complex clinical and genomic data, AI enables earlier, more accurate disease detection and diagnosis. It allows real-time health tracking, empowering doctors to provide personalised care and early interventions, transforming outcomes beyond what was previously possible.

Advanced genomics is another promising frontier. The impact of AI in biotechnology extends far beyond the basic understanding of human genetics, as AI will continue to decipher the complexities of the human genome, engineering gene therapies quicker than ever before, and allowing tailored treatment plans that address the specific genetic makeup of everyone.

One of the biggest promises of AI lies in AI-powered drug discovery, development, and testing with the potential to cut down the time and cost of bringing new therapies to market. The possibility of bringing newer and better drugs to market faster and at a more affordable price will improve access to new treatments, improving patient outcomes at scale.

Using GenAI like LLMs to help people understand their medical and genetic information will drive health engagement via digital platforms. This will enable people to have a more active role in their healthcare journey with tools to educate themselves, manage their health, and communicate easily with providers.

This is evidence of the remarkable capabilities we have with AI and digital technologies to reinvent healthcare, enhancing its efficiency, personalisation, and availability for everyone.

Read: UAE’s M42 restructures operations to foster growth, innovation