34 • Specialist clinics
Face to face “T
rying to look into the future is an extremely difficult thing to do,” says
Professor Pali Hungin. But that’s exactly his task as lead convener of the Changing Face of Medicine (CFM) project, hosted by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges in London. Professor Hungin’s multidisciplinary team was set up to grapple with some of the biggest questions facing the medical profession over the next 10-20 years, including what the patient-doctor relationship will look like and how the role of technology will shape patient care.
What healthcare innovations are doctors most excited about? A greater prevalence of highly personalised, precision medicine, whereby treatments are geared towards an individual based on their genetic structure or their personal physiology. It’s already happening for some breast cancer patients, where different women may have entirely different treatment plans tailored just for them. In the future, it’s likely to happen for people with high blood pressure, heart disease, rheumatic problems and many other conditions.
Healthcare Innovations • Sunday 26 July 2020
What will the role of the doctor look like in the future? Sam Haddad speaks to Professor Pali Hungin, who is heading up the Changing Face of Medicine project, to find out
We’ll also see significantly improved
early detection of serious problems without invasive investigations. For example, through liquid biopsies, which is where a blood test can pick up fragments of a cancer’s genetic material circulating in the bloodstream, meaning a patient wouldn’t need a surgical biopsy.
What are the concerns around the role of technology in the future? Some people are concerned the personal element may become subservient to the use of technology, but we’re convinced that the role of face-to-face contact and interpersonal relationships will actually become more important in an age of technological advancement. Tere’s now a powerful
acknowledgement of the partnership role we have with our patients. Trough the internet, patients have access to information and data, (though we need to encourage them to use trusted sources), and so the power gradient in terms of knowledge between the doctor and patient has been reduced. I’m very excited about this because it’s now possible to have a very fruitful
REVIEWING PATIENT’S TEST RESULTS WITH DOCTORS/GETTY
Tere’s a lot of evidence to show that doctors are finding it very difficult under these circumstances to give their best on each occasion; even empathy is only a finite resource in a human being
conversation with a patient and reach an outcome that’s acceptable to both sides. We must never underestimate that every patient is an expert in their own illness, and we can only work effectively if we remember that. Technology will play a greater role
in diagnosis, but the best way forward will need to be discussed with a doctor to balance the arguments. Te need for empathy, understanding and to contextualise a person’s problems are very human traits — they can’t be done by a computer.
Will we be healthier in the future? I think people will be healthier due to earlier diagnosis and precision medicine as I’ve already mentioned. But on the negative side, the level of
Mahaah – a new word for health
As we enter a new vision of everyday life, what will health and health care look and feel like — an apple a day or the doctor shall stay?
Ask any global citizen, and unsurpris- ingly you’ll get polarised views about what health and healthcare looks like. Tey can range from conven- tional, science-based approaches, technology and apps with the prover- bial annual doctor-visit or e-consult to earthy daily-living practices with some form of movement, healthy eating and spiritual practices like meditation or yoga. Some aim to steer well clear of any medical profes- sionals, preferring personal trainers and yoga teachers instead; while others can’t seem to ever get enough time with their doctor. Wherever you may be on the planet right now, health is clearly on everyone’s mind. Mahaah has a team of doctors,
psychology, meditation and sleep coaches, nutritional specialists, fitness and exercise trainers and other experts ready to curate your bespoke health experience. It also
‘In the case of all things which have several parts and in which the totality is not, as it were, a mere heap, but the whole is something besides the parts’ 1
has club with a social
a Mahaah members’ dining impact hub
to facilitate involvement with social and community activities. Indi- vidual, group and corporate services are available.
At Mahaah, you’ll discover a new experience of health — your whole health Take the well-known quote (and its slight variations often attributed to Aristotle): ‘Te whole is greater than the sum of the parts’ bring in the quality of ‘coherence’, and you have the Mahaah way
MAHAAH ART: THE APPLE AND THE DOCTOR. PHOTO CREDIT - CRAIG HEPWORTH & DIMPLE DEVADAS
The Mahaah way: An apple a day, and the doctor may stay Time with your doctor with medical screening at your convenience — face to face or in the comfort of your own home/workplace. In the background, your doctors are safely tracking your health. In the foreground, your team
resource required for funding a highly technologically driven NHS, with the individual care and relationships that will be needed to maintain the link between healthcare workers and patients, is going to be a challenge. And the workload for doctors
is already so high that to offer a highly individual consultation for each patient can be extremely demanding. Tere are one million GP consultations a day in the UK, and it’s not unusual for GPs to see 40 or 50 patients and deal with many phone calls each day. Tere’s a lot of evidence to show that doctors are finding it very difficult under these circumstances to give their best on each occasion; even empathy is only a finite resource in a human being.
of healthy living experts are co-cu- rating your healthcare experience transforming your unique health vision into bespoke sustainable daily living practises that align with your values, flow with your life and evolve with you. Mahaah coherently integrates
the best of science and medicine with a wide range of complemen- tary, holistic approaches augmented by user-friendly technologies with real-time feedback and a wide range
of
ical metrics.
trackable, psychophysiolog- It infuses compassion,
patience, creativity, passion with the spirit of social impact and community into everything the company does. Mahaah is the new word for super
health, and why would you want to settle for anything else?
[1] Aristotle 980a Metaphysics,Translated by W. D.
Ross.https://
www.incose-cc.org/blog/who-said- the-whole-is-greater-than-the-sum-of-the-parts
T: 0333 335 5031 E:
discovery@mahaah.co.uk mahaah.co.uk
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
