Artificial intelligence in Punjab’s Province healthcare: a qualitative exploration of opportunities, challenges, and ethical perspectives

Aim. The study aims to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats associated with Artificial Inteligence (AI) in Punjab’s healthcare system. Material and methods. The study adopted a qualitative ethnographic research. These included a combiation of observations and semi structured interviews. The study consisted of 9 interviews with various health practitioners in one hospital in Lahore. Thecollected data through both research approaches were subjected to open and closed coding procedures and subsequently synthesized to comprehensive conclusions. Results. There are opportunities in using AI for early disease detection, drug discovery, nursing care, image analysis, which can significantly improve the quality of care and speed up interventions. The potential of AI also helps with predictive analytics for public health planning and improve communication through natural language processing systems. In order to ensure responsible and equitable integration of AI, the study suggests testing AI frameworks in specific healthcare settings, strengthening ethical and data safeguards, investing in professional training, especially for nurses, and conducting cost-benefit analyses to guide implementation. Conclusions. PAI can significantly reduce workload, automate administrative tasks, and support personalized treatment. However, implementation requires overcoming barriers such as high costs, staff resistance and data security concerns. An ethical, inclusive approach and professional training are needed, especially for nurses which play a key role in bridging technology and patient care.