The Healthcare of the Future
Residents of the UK have access to the National Health Service (NHS) which provides a wide range of free medical services. However, the healthcare system in the United Kingdom is facing more significant problems with the growing need for healthcare services. One of the biggest problems facing the United Kingdom medical field is not having enough staff and long waiting times. Because of insufficient resources, the country has limited capacity and is prone to global health crises like COVID-19. Not to mention, it has contributed to the expanding wait lists for elective treatment. Healthcare organisations are taking steps to address difficulties and provide top-notch services, from researching medical issues to protecting patient privacy. Modern technologies that have made it feasible to get around some of these challenges have made this possible.
Healthcare technology has the potential to radically change how the sector functions for both patients and healthcare workers. Healthcare systems around the world are using artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and data science to improve results. Healthcare expenditure in the UK has reached 276.6 billion British pounds by 2021, an increase of 19.1 billion British pounds compared to last year’s healthcare spending. Despite the fact that there are still substantial challenges to overcome, there is hope that technology will be able to assist.
First of all, Electronic Health Records (EHRs) can help solve the problem of rising administrative costs for hospitals and medical staff. Currently, doctors and other medical staff spend a great deal of time on paperwork. Digitalising the administration and recordkeeping can improve the efficiency and quality of healthcare. The time used to spend doing the paperwork can be used to treat more patients and provide better treatments and medical services. Moreover, digitalising health records can facilitate easy access to patient information from any location. It reduces the duplication of medical tests to be done and improves communication between medical professionals and healthcare providers. It can increase the efficiency of treating patients, especially in emergency situations.
Besides implementing Electronic Health Records, telemedicine is another way of solving problems facing the healthcare sector. The long waiting times for treatments on the NHS are a huge problem and result in patients receiving delayed treatment. Moreover, rural areas cannot easily access healthcare services. Telemedicine overcomes geographic accessibility and service timeline issues, allowing patients to receive medical care remotely through phone calls or mobile app services. It reduces costs and avoids waiting a long time in a hospital or clinic for treatment. Moreover, it can reduce the burden on healthcare providers as doctors can make diagnoses with the use of telemedicine and e-visits without having patients visit the hospitals and clinics in person.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become such a trend and it is applicable in every aspect of our lives. The healthcare sector is no exception. AI can help to accelerate medical research by processing vast datasets, recognising patterns and linkages, and forecasting outcomes. This can help with medication development, clinical trials, and personalised medicine. Moreover, AI algorithms can analyse huge amounts of data, such as patient health records, test results, and medical imaging, to help healthcare practitioners discover and treat diseases. AI can also help locate patient groups that are at high risk of getting a certain disease, allowing for preventative actions.
Robotics is a useful way to help with the challenges facing the healthcare sector. The introduction of robotics to the healthcare sector has been quite a while now, but the advancement of robotic technology and wider usage of robotics would definitely aid the problems of shortages of medical staff and increase the quality of medical care provided. Some areas of applying robotics are surgeries and rehabilitation. Robotic surgery has the potential to deliver higher precision and accuracy than traditional surgery, lowering the risk of complications and allowing for a quicker recovery. Robotics can help people recover from injuries or operations by assisting with physical therapy such as walking and exercising.
The emergence of technology has also shifted the relationship between patients and clinicians. During the pandemic, people could not visit the practitioners so easily due to quarantine. There was also a rising trend to maintain good physical and mental health while staying at home. Thus, it gives way to the prevalence of health apps and wearable devices. Wearable gadgets, such as fitness trackers and smartwatches, can assist people in monitoring their health. It also offers useful data to healthcare providers about their patients' health conditions, allowing for early illness identification and prevention.
Health apps can also empower patients with medical knowledge, teach them how to identify their conditions, and allow them to share their thoughts with medical professionals. Moreover, AI-supported apps, sometimes paired with wearable devices, can track the daily activities of their users, monitor their conditions, and even notify medical staff. With the growing attention towards mental health, especially during the pandemic, health apps have become more popular. Headspace: Meditation & Sleep helps patients meditate and learn how to cope with their emotions in difficult times. Users get to practice mindfulness, thereby improving their quality of life.
However, addressing problems facing the medical field with digital technology raises concerns about patient security and privacy. There is a potential risk of data leakage involving patient information. Medical records contain private and intimate information about patients’ medical conditions. Digitalising medical records, such as by uploading them to a cloud server, means that those data can be seen by many healthcare providers without the consent of the patient. Moreover, the popularity of mobile applications and smart devices involves the collection of personal data. These data might be used by companies for other users, and they can sell their personal data for business, breaching patients’ privacy.
The advancement of technology has no doubt catalysed the development of healthcare. With the aid of technology, the problems facing the medical field in the United Kingdom, like the shortage of medical staff and the long waiting hours for medical services, will be alleviated, and the quality of medical care will improve. However, it is important to ensure patients’ safety while incorporating technology into healthcare. We should also consider patients’ privacy and other ethical problems that come with using technology. With the oversight of human care and adequate training provided to healthcare practitioners, technology can transform the healthcare system in the UK.
