How AI Can Transform Healthcare For Women

Getting the healthcare you need shouldn’t feel like a battle. Yet for many women, that’s exactly what it is. Women’s health has been historically underfunded and under-researched, leading to minimized symptoms, misunderstood concerns, and misdiagnoses that can take years to correct. Now, AI is starting to change that reality. New technology is helping doctors detect disease earlier and tailor treatments to individuals.

As AI reshapes the future of patient care, experts say one thing is critical: ensuring the technology is used ethically and with human oversight.

Keeping AI human-centric 

“Responsible AI means building, using and governing AI systems in ways that are ethical, aligned with human values and deliberately designed to put people first at every stage,” explains Pam Snively, chief data and trust officer at TELUS. 

That means everything from how data is collected and safeguarded to how AI-assisted decisions are made and explained. Most importantly, it means listening to the people the technology is meant to serve. 

Given women’s historical experiences with healthcare systems, trust in AI must be earned. TELUS’ AI Report revealed that women are particularly concerned about safety and privacy when it comes to AI. More generally, 64 per cent of Canadians cite accountability for mistakes as a top issue, 60 per cent are concerned about privacy and data security risks, and 58 per cent worry about losing humanity or empathy in care delivery. The way to earn their trust? Keep humans at the centre. 

“AI should support, not replace, human expertise,” says Snively. “For people to trust AI, they need to know that human experts remain involved, providing critical judgement, empathy and ethical oversight.” 

Fixing the research gap

Before AI can help close the healthcare gap for women, it needs to overcome a fundamental challenge: the gender data gap itself. 

“By treating male bodies as the baseline, medical research has created a gender data gap – and, more broadly, gaps for anyone whose experiences fall outside that narrow frame,” says Snively. “Without meaningful representation of women’s experiences and data, their health needs are often inadequately understood and improperly addressed.”

The problem is clear: AI is only as good as the data it’s trained on. If the data is biased, so is the AI. That's where rigorous data governance and ethics come in. As a leader in data trust, and Canada's largest healthcare technology company, TELUS is leading the ethical evolution of AI and addressing the need for quality data through stringent standards that prioritize transparency, fairness and accountability – ensuring AI projects don't perpetuate the very gaps they're meant to close.

Dr. Alissia Valentinis, a family physician and national medical director at TELUS Health, sees this gap as both a challenge and an opportunity.

"Women face misdiagnosis and undertreatment in healthcare, rooted in their underrepresentation in clinical research," says Dr. Valentinis. "AI can help bridge these gaps by analyzing diverse datasets to uncover sex-specific disease patterns and improve early detection. But only if those data are inclusive from the start." 

From better data to even better care

Improving research and diagnosis is only part of the equation. Even with the right information, doctors need time to review it, and the time to carefully listen to their patients, especially on topics that have historically been dismissed or misunderstood in female health. This is where AI’s operational benefits with human oversight show massive potential.

Tools like OpenEvidence can help clinicians quickly search medical journals to ensure no possible diagnosis is missed, drawing on a broader evidence base to improve accuracy and confidence in care decisions especially for conditions that have been understudied in women.

Making time for what matters

According to Dr. Valentinis, some TELUS Health clinics are using AI to free up clinicians from intense administrative burdens, such as taking notes during consultations, so they can focus more on uninterrupted connection and engagement with patients during appointments instead of their screens. 

Opening up clinician time to discuss more sensitive or complicated topics like menopause or sexual health – an area where over half of women report their concerns are overlooked - is critical. 

This shift invites women to take an active role in their own care and build strong relationships with their doctors. Women should feel comfortable to share their symptoms in detail, ask questions about the evidence behind diagnoses and seek further clarity when something doesn't feel right. 

This isn't just about efficiency, it’s creating the conditions for more open, trusted communication and delivery of compassionate care. When doctors have less administrative tasks to complete, they can focus fully on the patient with empathy and build the trust that’s essential for addressing women’s health concerns. 

“AI can enhance clinical judgment, but it should never replace it,” says Dr. Valentinis. “The sweet spot is a partnership where AI offers insights and physicians apply expertise and ethical reasoning.”

A more human future 

For any of this to work, people need to trust both AI and the organizations using it. 

“We want people in Canada to know there are organizations doing this right,” says Snively. “That’s why we created the TELUS Trust Centre, to show exactly how we’re using data responsibly, and to engage communities in conversations about what AI can and should be.”

As AI continues to evolve, the opportunity is clear: progress doesn't have to come at the expense of empathy. For women, this shift could mean a future where healthcare is more personalized, preventive, and compassionate: one where technology helps them feel seen, heard and cared for. Not because AI replaced the human touch, but because it gave healthcare providers the tools and time to deliver it. 

Learn more about TELUS and their commitment to responsible AI.