Health system transformation
The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into the healthcare system is accelerating with the aim of improving early diagnosis. A pilot program has been launched to facilitate the production and interpretation of ultrasound scans using AI. AI-assisted early detection solutions for breast cancer have been launched at the National Institute of Oncology in Rabat. The details.
Artificial intelligence in health is gradually establishing itself as one of the main vectors of transformation of the health system. The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare is banking on AI to strengthen early diagnosis in healthcare facilities. Minister Amine Tehraoui announced Monday in the House of Representatives the launch of a program aimed at facilitating the production and interpretation of ultrasound scans through the use of AI, particularly in the cases of pregnant women in rural areas. Mr. Tehraoui specified that this pilot project is being implemented in the health centers of Aghbala (province of Béni Mellal) and Moulay Bouazza (province of Khénifra). This project is intended to support midwives and health professionals and improve the quality of diagnosis and early detection of high-risk pregnancies. AI-assisted early detection solutions for breast cancer will also be launched at the National Institute of Oncology, part of the Ibn Sina University Hospital Center (CHUIS) in Rabat, in order to accelerate and improve the accuracy of diagnosis and optimize the chances of early treatment.
Thus, the use of AI would have the advantages of improving early detection, reducing costs and better targeting at-risk populations. Furthermore, Mr. Tehraoui indicated that the ministry is working on a national project to gradually unify health IT systems; significant progress has been obtained in several regions thanks to this generalization in hospitals, the integration of primary health care centers and the networking of health establishments within an integrated digital system. The ministry is continuing its efforts to implement the unified medical record. It will make it possible to follow the patient’s therapeutic journey between different levels of care and to develop telemedicine services, particularly in regions facing a shortage of certain medical specialties, the minister specified.
530 specialist doctors assigned from August
With the specific objective of strengthening the provision of care in public hospitals, the minister announced that 530 specialist doctors will be assigned to the different regions of Morocco as soon as they obtain their diplomas starting next August. Regarding the Territorial Health Groups (GST), Mr. Tehraoui specified that this “unprecedented” measure puts an end to the two-year delays sometimes between obtaining the diploma and the assignment. It will thus make it possible to strengthen the health offer quickly and effectively. The minister recalled the structural reforms in terms of training and management of specialist doctors, in particular through the decree relating to the situation of students in the faculties of medicine, pharmacy and dentistry, which provides for the extension of contractualization with the State to all new doctors registered in the specialty. Under this new system, all new medical specialists will be required to complete a period of compulsory service in public health institutions after obtaining their diploma. This period is set at four years for the 2026 and 2027 promotions and at three years from 2028.
The minister believes that this reform marks a turning point in the sense that it breaks with a situation that has persisted for 33 years, thus guaranteeing the contribution of all specialist doctors to the public health service during a crucial phase of their professional career and promoting equitable distribution in order to strengthen the provision of care at the national level. This year, nearly 2,000 positions were opened for resident doctors under the new system. These promotions will join public health establishments from 2030 as an essential pillar of GST. Thus, the Territorial Health Groups will play, for the first time, a central role in the organization, supervision and assignment of resident doctors as well as in training courses and internships, which will make it possible to adapt training to the real needs of each region and to align them with the national and regional health maps.
