resistant bacteria A silver lining around a very dark cloud

A silver lining around a very dark cloud

Andrew Davies, ABHI’s Digital Health Lead, considers how the Covid-19 pandemic could have an impact on how technology is used within healthcare in the future.

We are currently in the midst of a war, the fight against a global pandemic, and thoughts, of course, go out to all those that haVe been impacted by Covid-19, as well as those leading the frontline fight.

As well as being reinforced by a veritable army of volunteers, the NHS is also being supported by technology. The history of war, be that traditional armed conflicts, cold wars or space wars, has shown that they can generate, in the longer-term, a beneficial effect on economic and technological development. In general, wars tend to accelerate technological development to solve specific military needs which, over time, are synthesised into non-military applications. The expectation is that this war against coronavirus will follow exactly the same path. This could be the silver lining to the cloud of the virus hanging over us. Already we are seeing significant changes in the way technology is used in the NHS;

l Primary care has been transformed from a walk-in service to a “dial-in or click-first service” in the space of weeks.

l Hundreds of thousands of people across the country are turning to digital services, such as the NHS App or 111’s online service, for help about their conditions.

l Electronic patient records and other essential technology services have been installed within days at new field hospitals across the country.

l Remote health and social monitoring are a growing part of the armoury for hard pressed GP and outpatient clinics.

l Several new Apps have been launched and adopted into the NHS, with an online status checker rolled out nationally.

The challenge will be to hold on to these gains that have come out of necessity (which we all know is the “mother of invention”), and to further adapt them to “peacetime” use. It is already becoming clear that even once Covid-19 is beaten, it will not be business as usual for the NHS. Already, ABHI is discussing with the NHS and Government the challenges that await the service in dealing with the backlog of treatments building up, as electives are cancelled, cancer treatments delayed, and even organ transplants suspended.

However, I am optimistic, as we shouldn’t look at the situation in the NHS in isolation. In some respects what is happening in the NHS now, due to Covid-19, is bringing it closer to the technological reality that is common in so many other facets of our life. We are now seeing that it is possible to manage our health online, in a similar same way we manage our finances online. For most of us reading this, homeworking and video conferences is the new normal. The same is true across the NHS, and of course Government, with cabinet meetings now being held virtually.

I predict that the pressure from within, and outside of the system, will keep digitisation adoption on track…a silver lining around a very dark cloud.