Artificial intelligence has arrived, is here to stay, and is likely to transform our work-lives, personal lives and social structures. Exactly how no one is entirely sure. The potential of AI was very apparent from discussions at the IBM Watson Summit in Auckland on August 16, 2017, and the New Zealand AI Forum ‘Connect’ event that followed.

Safe and effective healthcare is frustrated by failures in communication. We know that double checking drug names and doses and using checklists are huge boons to patient safety. Effective communication is important too. Repeating back important information (read back) enhances the effectiveness of communication across many industries. However, formal communication protocols are uncommon in healthcare teams.

Catheter ablation (CA) for atrial fibrillation (AF) is a procedure with high up-front costs but is superior to pharmacologic treatments for reducing symptoms ¹ and hospital presentations ² . In patients with mild symptoms or few hospitalisations the cost of CA may not be justified.

There will almost certainly be future pandemic diseases that pose a grave threat to human lives. Pandemic influenza, novel emerging infectious agents and possible synthetic bioweapons all pose serious risks. It seems biologically plausible that a new infectious agent might have the transmission characteristics of influenza and the death rate of Ebola.