CS5805 Ethics and Governance of Digital Systems Analysis and Reflection Assessment

MAIN OBJECTIVES OF THE ASSESSMENT 

The coursework for the Ethics and Governance module is an individual analysis and critical reflection on the use  of digital technologies in healthcare. These applications are the subject of some debate, in which proponents ‘evangelize the remarkable outcomes that can result from the widespread adoption and use of advanced  innovations in intelligent technologies … [while] an equally prominent set of voices [is] advocating for caution’  (Lebovitz 2019, p. 14). Clearly, there are ethical, governance and regulatory issues associated with the use of  digital technologies in healthcare, which you are required to address in this assignment. 

The assignment aims to assess the following learning outcomes (LOs): 

LO1: Identify and appraise existing research related to the handling and governance of digital information;

LO2: Evaluate the legal, social and ethical concerns and consequences related to the use of digital systems  in practice; 

LO3: Reflect critically on the governance implications of adopting digital technologies in the modern  working environment and society. 

DESCRIPTION OF THE ASSESSMENT 

The requirements of the assessment for the Ethics and Governance module are to provide i) a literature review;  ii) case description; iii) analysis and discussion; and iv) reflections, as described below: 

1. Literature Review: You must review papers from a specific collection of recent literature on the use of  digital technologies in healthcare. The papers you review must be chosen from the literature collection  posted under the CS5805 Assessment tab on Brightspace and labeled Healthcare Studies for Review. You are required to review at least six and no more than ten of these papers in your own words, highlighting  for each paper you read the ethical and/or governance issues it discusses and the related medical context. Please note: Reviewing at least six papers from the collection should be seen as the minimum requirement  to meet literature review marking criteria. Also, there will be no additional credit for reviewing more than  ten papers from the collection. 

2. Case Description: You must provide a description of the use of artificial intelligence in radiology work by a  major US hospital, Urbanside. Your source for this task is the paper by Lebovitz (2019), which is available  under the CS5805 Assessment tab on Brightspace and labeled Assignment Case Study. The aim of your  description is to provide sufficient background information about Urbanside and why the hospital decided  to use AI in radiology work, so that your reader is able to understand your answers to items 3 and 4 below. 
3. Analysis and Discussion: 

Ethical Perspective: 

a) You must describe the range of ethical concerns that came to the fore at Urbanside; and

b) Discuss your own ethical stance on the use of AI in radiology work. 

Governance Mechanisms: 

c) You must explain the mechanisms Urbanside incorporated into its radiology work processes to address  the ethical issues raised by the use of AI; and 

d) Discuss the effectiveness of these governance mechanisms in ensuring reliable diagnoses in  Urbanside’s Radiology department. 

Regulatory Stance: 

e) You must discuss whether and how you believe regulation on the use of AI in radiology should be  implemented. 

Please note: For questions 3a) – 3e), you must refer to relevant teaching materials on ethical perspectives,  governance mechanisms and regulatory principles when presenting and justifying your arguments. The  materials you choose to support your arguments must be chosen from the lecture material and, if  appropriate, seminar readings for the CS5705 module. The form of reference you should use for these  materials is provided in the section on Format of the Assessment. 

4. Reflections: 

• You must discuss the practical lessons you learned about the use of digital technologies in healthcare  settings as a result of undertaking this assignment. Your answer to this question should demonstrate  critical reflection; for example, did you reassess your beliefs about the benefits or issues of using  intelligent technologies in healthcare, or learn something unexpected / interesting as a result of  undertaking this assignment. 
• You must outline how you might progress the research you discussed in this assignment in an MSc  dissertation. Your answer should describe a problem that needs to be addressed and identify methods  that would allow you to do the research.