Europe’s hospitals are ageing along with their citizens. The share of people over 65 has already reached 21% and is forecast to approach 30% by 2050 [1]. Chronic diseases rise in tandem, while staff shortages deepen. Health-care professionals spend more than half of the time they devote to patient care working inside electronic health records rather than with patients [1].
AI, the study argues, is no longer optional. Even “low-hanging-fruit” applications—triage queues, smart worklists, ambient clinical scribes—can reclaim hours, cut burnout, and widen access to expertise beyond city hospitals [1]. Yet uptake crawls, hamstrung by fragmented rules, outdated servers and, above all, mistrust.
Those obstacles are precisely what Brussels has started to clear.
