At today's Westminster Health Forum keynote seminar The future of digital technology in the NHS - Big Data and AI, efficiency and outcomes, and addressing concerns, 23rd November 2018, Dr Simon Eccles, Chief CIO for Health and Care DHSC and NHS England, reflected that the current model of care in the NHS is the 1948 model of care.  This needs to change.  Tech has moved on, patient expectations are high, and the NHS has not kept up.  He believes that it can be achieved through both a tech transformation, which is currently being realised with the digitisation of the NHS, and a transformation of care processes, which will enable clinical transformation. 

"We’re living in a frontier moment.  You can literally now make a diagnosis for patients by computation.”

Dr Charles Gutteridge, Chief CIO, Barts Health NHS Trust

Dr Gutteridge observed that digitisation will allow the NHS to, "Deliver population health at an individual level."  There is the potential for technology to enable individuals to use their lifetime health records to maintain their health. There are several barriers that will need to be overcome to reach the digital future; secure by design platforms will need to be established, and a requirement for interoperable systems across the entire NHS network.  The days of data being locked away in silos are coming to an end. 

Professor Daniel Ray, Director of Data at NHS Digital, predicted that, in this digital future, patients will have more information about them on their phones or a similar device than the practitioners will.  He revealed that the NHS are in the process of building Amelia, an NHS digital virtual agent.  Amelia will be able to provide patients with a basic level of service, which will be backed up by staff to deliver more complex information. 

Mark Birse, Group Manager of Devices Safety and Surveillance Grout & Devices Software and Apps Group at the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) revealed that the MHRA are looking to establish a one-stop-shop for digital health and are currently in initial discussions with NHS Digital with a view to creating this.

Simon Eccles highlighted that having more intelligent systems will not only improve services, it will also enable the NHS to identify when someone is doing something that is having a positive impact.  These examples of best practice could then be replicated and adopted to facilitate shared learning.

Transparency is Trustworthy

As a result of recent scandals involving both negligence in safeguarding and mis-use of customer data by big tech companies, public trust has been eroded. Big data is a vital element of research-driven innovations in health care.  Daniel Ray highlighted the need for the provision of environments where researchers can access data remotely and apply algorithms safely.  Where data is being shared with the private sector, such as with pharmaceutical and tech companies, there will need to be an initial code of conduct for data driven health and care technology. 

"If we don’t bring patients along with us, we risk endangering everything.”

Hassan Chaudhury, Chief Commercial Officer, Health iQ

Transparency with how data is being used is vital for building a trusting relationship with the public.  Hassan Chaudhury, Chief Commercial Officer at Health iQ referred to the Understanding Patient Data project, which was launched by the Wellcome Trust in December 2016.  The aim of the project is to, "Explain how and why data can be used for care and research, what's allowed and what's not, and how personal information is kept safe." They work with patients, charities and healthcare professionals to support better conversations about the use of health information. Mr Chaudhury emphasised that public trust and support could really aid the adoption of new technology. 

"The primary purpose of data collection is patient care.  Analytics will and should always be secondary to this.”

Eleonora Harwich, Director of Research and Head of Digital and Tech Innovation, Reform

The collection of big data and the introduction of AI involve a diverse range of considerations. Innovations in technology and analytics should have patient care its core, and not just occur for the sake of advancing technology. Eleonora Harwich, Director of Research and Head of Digital and Tech Innovation at Reform reminded us that, "The primary purpose of data collection is patient care.  Analytics will and should always be secondary to this.” Innovations in technology and analytics should have patient care its core, and not just occur for the sake of advancing technology. As Chris Ruane MP, Vice-Chair, All-Part Parliamentary Group for Data Analytics pointed out, we need to avoid a situation where big data with big psychology ends up being big brother. 

Post Contributor:

Caitriona Fitzsimons Digital Reporter