In the age of digitalization, artificial intelligence (AI) plays a leading role. AI is being used in more and more areas to improve processes and increase the efficiency of the tasks performed. In medicine, for example, AI is gaining ground and is already beginning to complement medical professionals. The market volume is expected to reach 11.5 billion euros this year.

Applied to medicine, AI has and will have a very important impact on the way patients understand, diagnose and treat ailments and diseases. These are some of its main functions:

- Through machine learning, AI can help make accurate disease diagnoses and identify patients' ailments. All this is done by analyzing the results of the tests performed, allowing the most appropriate treatment to be determined, which improves the quality of patient care.

- Accelerating research processes and the development of new medicines thanks to the automation of processes and the ability to process large amounts of data and draw conclusions in a short time.

- The ability to monitor patients in real time, allowing for more recurring examinations and regular communication with the hospital system, facilitating decision-making in the treatment and early detection of diseases.

- Increased patient safety thanks to the detection of possible human error and support in the selection of medication to be administered. Even though control over the final medical decisions will remain with the doctors themselves.

- Increased efficiency and resource optimization to improve healthcare management. By reducing the time spent on the various medical processes, tasks are accelerated and costs are reduced, increasing savings for hospitals.

Given the fact that a large amount of sensitive data is processed, the security of AI applications in medicine is imperative and of paramount importance. According to a report by the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity, 53% of cyberattacks in the healthcare sector targeted healthcare providers in 2023, 42% of which targeted hospitals, and the percentages are set to rise this year. Data theft, ransomware attacks and the manipulation of AI models themselves are some of the most common threats that jeopardize patient safety and health. To prevent attacks, data must be protected and effective security controls put in place to prevent unauthorized access. Contingency plans also need to be put in place to know how to act in the event of a cyber-attack and to do so as quickly as possible.

The future of digital medicine will largely depend on the ability to protect systems from cyber threats. Investment in cyber security will be key to protecting data and IT systems. There is also a need to ensure that AI innovations in healthcare are implemented effectively and safely so that they continue to complement the work of healthcare professionals.