Technology
How can digital technology improve acute care?
Peter Søgaard considers how digital technology could be harnessed to reduce admissions and improve rehabilitation, with the aim of providing improved patient care and reduced pressures on the acute sector.
Before making the case for how digital technology can improve acute care, we need to understand the context in which healthcare systems are operating. In many advanced economies, acute care is facing unprecedented challenges due to an ageing population, the rising burden of chronic diseases, and the lingering impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. These factors have increased the demand for hospital services, strained the capacity and resources of healthcare systems, and exposed the limitations and gaps in the current models of care.
In the UK, this is manifesting itself through
record breaking NHS backlogs. In February 2024, there were almost 6.3 million people on NHS waiting lists for consultant-led elective care.1
picture is similarly bleak for cancer treatment, with only 62% of patients meeting the cancer treatment target in 2022-3.2
The The pandemic effects
are compounded by the long-term challenges the NHS faces, which are multifaceted – workforce pressures, growing demand for care and inflationary challenges just to mention a few.
At an organisational level, this has meant a focus on optimising theatre capacity and efficiency to deliver more for less, while seeking to continuously improve patient outcomes. However, there are record numbers of patient admissions, which is placing a growing strain on fixed resources. This is having an effect on patient care, as they find themselves waiting far beyond the four-hour A&E target or on a waiting list stretching into many months. When patients are finally admitted to hospital, clinicians are finding they have deteriorated and developed more complex conditions during their wait, meaning healthcare professionals are fighting against the odds to deliver excellent outcomes. Furthermore, when it comes to recovery and rehabilitation, delayed discharge is having a knock-on effect on admissions capacity and re-admission compounds this problem further. This is particularly true for those who are frail and who do not have adequate care in the community. This means it is more important than ever to think about how we can focus on preventative
healthcare as part of a multi-pronged strategy. Improving patient outcomes and capacity
in acute care has often meant innovating in the place where care takes place – the theatre itself. This might be through improved surgical tools, the use of 4K laparoscopic cameras, improved sterilisation techniques and the use of more ergonomic patient handling equipment. These are welcome and important improvements that contribute to improving the quality of care and the more efficient use of hospital resources. However, the pressures acute care is under, and improvements in patient outcomes following hospital admission, require a preventative approach and are best tackled outside of the theatre environment in my view. This is because the success of a patient’s treatment, recovery and rehabilitation (and their chance of being admitted in the first place) is highly dependent on the general health and lifestyle of the patient and on what happens to that individual after discharge. We know that
November 2024 I
www.clinicalservicesjournal.com 45
t
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80
