AI can relieve doctors and nurses from repetitive tasks, accelerate diagnostics, and improve efficiency.
Artificial intelligence is ready to play a major role in healthcare, but it must be seen as a tool to empower medical staff, not replace them, according to Dr. Björn Zoëga, Deputy CEO of King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre (KFSHRC).
Speaking during KFSHRC’s participation as a Strategic Partner at the C3 Davos of Healthcare™ New York Summit: Healthcare Disrupted – The Future of AI, Data & Precision Medicine, Dr. Zoëga emphasized that AI can relieve doctors and nurses from repetitive tasks, accelerate diagnostics, and improve efficiency.
“There are many AI technologies available today that can help us deliver better care,” he said. “Our task is to trust these systems, integrate them responsibly, and ensure they serve patients by supporting—not replacing—our healthcare professionals.”
Building on the theme of innovation supporting, rather than replacing, caregivers, Dr. Zoëga pointed to a milestone at KFSHRC: the hospital recently treated its first patient with in-house manufactured CAR-T cells. The patient, who had not responded to other therapies, is now cancer-free. By producing CAR-T therapy locally, the hospital has reduced costs by nearly 80 percent and shortened treatment timelines from more than 100 days abroad to less than 40 days in Saudi Arabia.
“This step marks Saudi Arabia as an early adopter of advanced cell therapies,” he noted. “It shows that with investment, commitment, and expertise, we can bring cutting-edge treatments closer to patients who need them.”
From pioneering cell therapy, Dr. Zoëga transitioned to preventive care, highlighting KFSHRC’s leadership in pre-implantation genetic testing for families at risk of inherited diseases. This approach, he explained, has offered early solutions that reduce suffering and improve health outcomes, complementing the hospital’s pediatric transplantation program, which delivers results that match and sometimes surpass European benchmarks.
He further illustrated how technology is reshaping treatment pathways through KFSHRC’s recognized leadership in advanced robotic surgery. The hospital has performed world-first procedures in transplantation and other complex cases, with innovations designed not for financial gain but to equip specialists with the right tools to expand the limits of medicine.
Looking to the future, Dr. Zoëga announced that KFSHRC is building a genomic and experimental medicine facility, supported directly by Saudi Arabia’s leadership. This investment, he said, underscores the Kingdom’s determination to strengthen research capacity even in times of financial challenge and will serve as a platform for future medical breakthroughs.
He stressed that KFSHRC’s role as a hub for innovation is also tied to its talent strategy: consultants must complete at least two years of international training before joining the hospital, ensuring global expertise is continuously reinvested in local care and positioning KFSHRC as a regional referral center for complex cases.
Dr. Zoëga concluded by placing these efforts in the wider context of healthcare transformation. Chronic diseases, aging populations, and rising costs, he noted, cannot be solved by one institution alone. “Healthcare is not a burden for a single hospital; it is a responsibility shared by society,” he said. “With innovation, collaboration, and the guidance of Saudi Vision 2030, we aim to be part of the international medical community and contribute to solutions that improve health outcomes everywhere.”
KFSHRC has been ranked first in the Middle East and North Africa and 15th globally in the list of the world’s top 250 Academic Medical Centres for the third consecutive year and recognized as the most valuable healthcare brand in the Kingdom and the Middle East, according to the 2025 Brand Finance rankings. Additionally, it was included in the World’s Best Smart Hospitals list for 2025 by Newsweek magazine.
