Justin Hall, vice president and general manager EMEA, iRhythm, writes about the ever increasing role that AI is going to play in the NHS.
In recent years, there has been a renewed focus on innovation and digital advancements within the healthcare space. Bringing these technologies to market – in order to benefit both patients and medical professionals – has become a major priority for both government bodies and healthcare leaders.
Pledging to make digitally-enabled care ‘mainstream’ over the next decade, 2019 witnessed the launch of the NHS Long Term Plan. Heavily backed by senior industry figures, the ambitious strategy promotes a much-needed culture shift for England’s health service.
Last year also saw an increase in funding, with the government declaring a £250 million investment to launch a new National Artificial Intelligence Lab, designed to act as an enabler for early cancer detection, modern dementia treatments and more personalised care. However, despite these all being positive signs of moving from concept to utilisation, many of the most cutting-edge technologies are still a long way away from being available on the NHS. Valuable innovation is taking a long time to break through and, when it does, uptake and adoption is slow, complex and laborious.
This is a challenge that the government’s Accelerated Access Scheme – introduced in 2018 – hopes to address. In theory, this fast-track route – designed for “breakthrough” medicines and technologies – will reduce the time it takes to negotiate the evaluation and financial approvals process, without impacting any safety elements. It will ultimately mean that products with the greatest potential to change lives could be available on the NHS up to four years earlier.
Saving time, saving lives
This rapid scaling of the most innovative technologies on the market through the Accelerated Access Scheme could have huge benefits for both those administering care and those receiving it.
For patients, the general availability of modern technologies, regardless of where they live or where they come from, will reduce the perceived ‘postcode lottery’. Under the Accelerated Access Scheme, regional variation in access to medical treatments will hopefully become a thing of the past and everyone will be able to benefit from lifesaving care.
For clinicians and medical practitioners, the scheme cuts through the red tape often associated with adopting new technologies and enables them to deliver the best possible outcomes. For many, embracing the latest innovations – such as Artificial intelligence – can result in increased efficiency and more time spent on patient care.
In fact, a recent report from MIT Technology review suggested that AI can help to combat the well-publicised ‘burn out’ endemic facing the NHS. With longer working hours, increased administrative duties and more patients to see than ever before, many medical professionals are feeling the pressure. The review indicated that AI can help to relieve this – preventing burnout in 79% of cases and rebalancing the workload in favour of care-giving duties.
Whilst many sceptics still view the implementation of these technologies as a ‘nice to have’ rather than a necessity, there is no denying that this level of accessibility has the potential to make a world of difference.
Future proofing the NHS
At a recent event hosted by the Health Tech Alliance, Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock urged for the wide-spread adoption of transformational technologies to gain pace. Despite it taking, on average, 17 years to get a new medical device from clinical trial to adoption, he highlighted that AI – as well as other modern technologies - within the NHS are not a distant prospect, but a modern reality. He added that what is slowing this digital transformation down, however, is a lack of even distribution.
With the Accelerated Access Scheme, we should see this become less of an issue. And, when that day comes, the NHS needs to be ready in order to reap the benefits of innovation.
One major hurdle that will need to be overcome is empowering the NHS’s workforce to utilise these new technologies. A certain level of upskilling and digital training will need to take place in order to ensure that once the technologies are in place, they are able to be used effectively by those on the front line.
Personal and professional buy-in from medical professionals will be essential if digital plans are to succeed. Part of getting this buy-in will stem from ensuring that any new technologies are quality assured and have a clear, safe and secure testing route before being released.
The healthcare revolution
Innovative technologies have the power to entirely transform the NHS, mitigating the workforce challenges that it faces and transforming the patient experience, whilst improving outcomes.
If we were able to overcome the barriers to their widespread adoption - through programmes like the Accelerated Access Scheme – we'd witness a momentous shift in progress. Similarly, to the industrial revolution, technology would be able to lessen the heavy lifting, taking the labour-intensive tasks – such as clinical documentation - and automating them. It would be a new, digitally empowered age in healthcare, and one that would be vital to making the NHS sustainable long-term.
