AI to assist with the advancement of Guyana’s public health system

Apr 24, 2026 News

---

(Kaieteur News) – Guyana is taking steps towards introducing Artificial Intelligence (AI) to assist with the advancement of the public health system.

On Thursday, the Ministry of Health, in collaboration with Mount Sinai Health System, hosted a seminar at the Marriot Hotel in Kingston under the theme: “Turning Promise into Practice: Integrating AI into Health Care.”

In his address at an AI seminar, Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony said the country is embracing a technological shift that is redefining how healthcare is delivered, moving from reactive treatment to predictive, precise and evidence-based care.

Through Guyana’s strategic partnership with Mount Sinai, significant groundwork has already been laid to support this transformation.

“We are developing guidelines so that we can standardise care across different domains,” Minister Anthony explained. “We want to ensure that our clinicians are prescribing according to these guidelines, backed by the latest evidence, so that our patients benefit from the most modern medical treatments.”

He noted that the Ministry of Health is committed to providing equitable, accessible and high-quality healthcare services to all citizens of Guyana through innovation, infrastructure development and strategic international.

According to Minister Anthony AI is not simply enhancing existing systems but transforming the very foundation of medicine but it is enabling healthcare providers to harness vast volumes of data to improve diagnosis, treatment and patient outcomes.

“Artificial intelligence is bringing that moment to all of us. In medicine, it signifies a paradigm shift, not just progress, a shift from intuition alone to intelligence augmented by data,” Dr. Anthony said.

“We recognise that if these systems are going to work well, we need to protect patients’ data. There’s an absolute need for confidentiality,” he emphasised.  The minister highlighted the passage of comprehensive data protection legislation as a critical step in safeguarding patient information while enabling the safe use of digital technologies across the health sector. The ministry is building local capacity by training a cadre of young professionals to support the country’s growing digital health infrastructure, ensuring long-term sustainability and responsiveness.

The minister also pointed to the growing use of data in strengthening public health systems, particularly through the national school health screening programme, which has already reached tens of thousands of children. The data collected is being analysed to identify trends and guide targeted interventions.

These efforts are complemented by the development of standardised clinical guidelines for the management of major non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular conditions, ensuring consistent, high-quality care countrywide.

Dr. Anthony underscored that Guyana is taking a holistic approach to healthcare transformation, integrating technology, policy, workforce development and service delivery to build a resilient and future-ready system. In his keynote address, President Irfaan Ali emphasised that embracing AI is no longer a choice, but a necessity for the survival of modern medical systems. He challenged the traditional nomenclature of the technology, suggesting a shift toward the term “Adaptive Intelligence,” to better reflect its agile and evolving nature.

“Anyone in the medical field who believes they can survive career-wise without embracing AI is living in a dream world. AI is not here to replace; it is here to amplify, to give better results, and to enhance efficiency. It is our agility partner in medical care,” Ali said. The President highlighted several key pillars for Guyana’s digital health strategy. He explained that AI will dismantle the “silo mentality” by fostering integrated teams of doctors, nurses, technicians and data analysts and by using baseline data collected through partnerships with Mount Sinai, and will allow the government to predict health trends for the next 25 years, enabling better budget planning and preventative care.

The President announced the development of a regional data centre to ensure Guyana maintains control and “sovereignty” over its national health information. He said the AI integration will be linked to the national digital identification (ID) card, creating a seamless “power card” that carries a patient’s complete medical history.

---

• Artificial intelligence, Dr. Frank Anthony, Guyana’s public health system, healthcare

---