This appeared a day or so ago:
Hi-tech health to benefit patients
- The Australian
- 12:00AM February 3, 2018
Sarah-Jane Tasker
Hospitals without patients, NASA-style command centres in healthcare facilities, 3D-printed organs — it sounds like something from a sci-fi novel but it could be part of Australia’s healthcare system in less than 10 years.
With healthcare budgets reaching unsustainable levels as people live longer, using technology better is now at the forefront of innovation in the healthcare sector.
The issue is being tackled globally. Last week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the chief executive of Nokia, Rajeev Suri, said his vision for the future of medical treatment included remote surgeries, 5G ambulances and miniaturised, wearable scanners.
Already, artificial intelligence and algorithms are being used to assist clinicians. GE Healthcare’s top expert in Australia, Matt Tucker, said while the clinician would never be replaced, AI would help guide decision-making and do it much faster than humans.
John Stanway, chief executive of Melbourne’s Royal Children’s Hospital, said the increasing utilisation of healthcare services meant that in the future it would not be sustainable to treat all patients inside hospitals.
“Remote monitoring of patients means we can look after more patients in their home and it also means the four walls of the hospital becomes more and more for patients that need intervention or surgery,” he told The Weekend Australian.
The Royal Children’s Hospital, which switched over to an electronic medical record system almost two years ago, has received international recognition for its use of technology to deliver high-quality patient care.
Royal Children’s Hospital was the first Australian hospital to implement a comprehensive EMR, which allows GPs and outside paediatricians to log on to a patient’s record. The system also includes a portal for families and patients to access their own medical records.
Mr Stanway said the patient portal would become more widely adopted in the future. He said patients and their families could use the technology to update their own data before arriving at hospital or to renew a prescription, and Royal Children’s Hospital was also trialling patients remotely booking their own appointments.
“Patients don’t always want to have to come into the four walls of the hospital for everything,” Mr Stanway said.
Vastly more stuff here:
Sure they have bought an expensive system (Epic) but it seems to be doing what the docs and patients want and need.
Useful outcomes with Digital Health are possible – but not while you focus on the hammer of the myHR believing all that is needed are more nails.
Much better news than usual.
David.
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