Focusing a Bioethics Lens on the Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence in Medicine and Neurosurgery.

The rapid pace of development and application of digital technology and data science, including artificial intelligence (AI), is transforming our world. In this chapter, we address the question: "Is bioethics relevant to how we should develop, govern, and use AI in healthcare, specifically in neurosurgery?" We recognize that medical decision-making involves uncertainty and is complex, and predicting potential outcomes is difficult. We conclude that the use of AI in neurosurgery is not inherently unethical.

Declaration of Computational Neurosurgery.

Computational neurosurgery is a novel and disruptive field where artificial intelligence and computational modeling are used to improve the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of patients affected by diseases of neurosurgical relevance. The field aims to bring new knowledge to clinical neurosciences and inform on the profound questions related to the human brain by applying augmented intelligence, where the power of artificial intelligence and computational inference can enhance human expertise. This transformative field requires the articulation of ethical considerations that will enable scientists, engineers, and clinical neuroscientists, including neurosurgeons, to ensure that the use of such a powerful application is conducted based on the highest moral and ethical standards with a patient-centric approach to predict and prevent mistakes.

Are we there yet? A journey of health reform in Australia.

• Five years on from the establishment of the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission, it is timely to review the context for reform and some of the actions taken to date, and to highlight remaining areas of concern and priority. • The Commission's final report was released in July 2009 and presented 123 recommendations organised under four reform themes: Taking responsibility: individual and collective action to build good health and wellbeing - by people, families, communities, health professionals, employers, health funders and governments Connecting care: comprehensive care for people over their lifetime Facing inequities: recognise and tackle the causes and impacts of health inequities Driving quality performance: leadership and systems to achieve best use of people, resources and evolving knowledge. • Overall, the Australian Government's response to the Commission's report has been very positive, but challenges remain in some key areas: Financial sustainability and the vertical fiscal imbalance between the federal and state governments Getting the best value from the health dollar by reducing inefficiency and waste and using value-based purchasing across the public and private health sectors National leadership across the system as a whole Getting the right care in the right place at the right time Health is about more than health care - increasing focus on prevention and recognising and tackling the broader social determinants of health.

A healthier future for all Australians: an overview of the final report of the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission.

After extensive community and health industry consultation, the final report of the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission, A healthier future for all Australians, was presented to the Australian Government on 30 June 2009. The reform agenda aims to tackle major access and equity issues that affect health outcomes for people now; redesign our health system so that it is better positioned to respond to emerging challenges; and create an agile, responsive and self-improving health system for long-term sustainability. The 123 recommendations are grouped in four themes: Taking responsibility: supporting greater individual and collective action to build good health and wellbeing.

Beyond the blame game.

The federal government announced the establishment of the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission (NHHRC) in February 2008 to advise on future directions of health care delivery in Australia. In late April, the NHHRC issued its first report, Beyond the blame game, giving its views on key issues for the proper function of the Australian Health Care Agreements. In this report, the NHHRC has proposed 44 benchmarks to be met by both federal and state governments, where performance should have clear consequences for the accountable party.

Contemporary (post-Wills) survey of the views of Australian medical researchers: importance of funding, infrastructure and motivators for a research career.

Objectives: To investigate the perceptions of Australian health and medical researchers 4 years after the Wills Report recommended and led to a substantial increase in health and medical research funding in Australia.

Design, Setting And Participants: A telephone poll of 501 active health and medical researchers, conducted between 28 April and 5 May, 2003.

Main Outcome Measures: Researchers' views on the adequacy of funding, infrastructure and support, salary, community recognition, the excitement of discovery and research outcomes such as publication and patenting in research.

Australian health and medical research: are we there yet?

We need to increase our investment to maintain and improve our position in the global knowledge economy.