LCWU Study Examines Real-World Use of AI in Punjab’s Public Hospitals

By Farzana Chaudhry
Lahore, Pakistan
LAHORE: Researchers from Lahore College for Women University (LCWU) have conducted an in-depth study on the implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) in Punjab’s public healthcare system, focusing on how the technology is actually used by healthcare workers in daily hospital operations.
The study was led by Dr. Moneeba Iftikhar of LCWU, alongside student researcher Roha Sabahat Butt, MBBS students from Fatima Jinnah Medical University, and three international scholars from St. Elizabeth College of Health and Social Work, Bratislava. By integrating expertise from social sciences, medicine, nursing, and global health, the team linked global discussions on AI with practical realities in Lahore’s government hospitals.
Researchers visited four public hospitals, observing clinical work and conducting semi-structured interviews with doctors, nurses, and other staff. This approach enabled the team to capture how AI tools are perceived and used in real hospital settings rather than in theory.
The findings suggest that AI has the potential to enhance early disease detection, medical imaging, nursing care, drug development, and public health planning. Language-based AI tools, in particular, could improve communication between healthcare providers and patients.
However, the study cautions that AI implementation must be carefully managed. Researchers stressed the importance of robust data protection, thorough training for healthcare workers, and realistic cost assessments to ensure equitable benefits and avoid widening existing healthcare gaps.
An editorial review in the international journal Pielegniarstwo XXI wieku / Nursing in the 21st Century commended the study’s focus on nurses, highlighting their central role in integrating AI into clinical practice. In Pakistan, where nursing is largely a women-led profession, the research underscores nurses as a critical link between technology and patient care.
The journal also noted that lessons from Punjab’s public healthcare system hold relevance beyond Pakistan, offering insights for other developing countries on adapting AI in public-sector health systems.
By providing real-world evidence from government hospitals, the LCWU-led study contributes a people-centered perspective to global discussions on how AI can shape the future of healthcare.