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Showing results for tags 'Technology'.
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Content ArticleModern health systems must embrace digital technologies to address challenges like ongoing shortages in the global health and care workforce, significant diagnostic backlogs and the requirements of diverse and ageing populations. The COVID-19 pandemic and the exceptional advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) have accelerated the drive towards digitalisation of health systems. However, making digital health technologies work in practice remains challenging in terms of how these technologies are designed, how their performance and safety in operation are assured and how their impact on staff and on patients is assessed, writes Mark Sujan in this BMJ Editorial.
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Content ArticleNHS England provides regular updates on progress with the implementation of the Digital Clinical Safety Strategy to show how they've captures insights about digital clinical safety, how they are training their workforce to support safety in this area and how they use technology to drive safer care.
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Content ArticleFor many years the NHS has talked about the need to shift to a more personalised approach to health and care—where people have choice and control over the way their care is planned and delivered, based on “what matters” to them and their individual strengths, needs and preferences. In this HSJ article, Ben Wilson, product solution director at Orion Health, discusses the progress, benefits and future possibilities for an integrated, patient-centric healthcare system.
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Content ArticleThis report summarises the findings of an evaluation conducted by Health Innovation East and Health Innovation Manchester on behalf of the national Innovation Collaborative for digital health. It presents findings from an evaluation of a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) virtual ward that falls within a virtual hospital managed by South and West Hertfordshire Health and Care Partnership. It aims to inform the potential wider adoption of the virtual ward model across the UK and understand the model’s potential to support people with other health conditions. It also considers the success of South and West Hertfordshire Health and Care Partnership Virtual Ward objectives to improve patient care, clinical outcomes, healthcare utilisation, and patient and staff satisfaction.
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In October, the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch will tweak its name, become independent from NHS England and the UK government, and gain new powers to strengthen investigations. With the announcement of the change in status, Health Secretary, Steven Barclay, reported it would be leading an investigation into inpatient mental health. This follows swiftly on the heels of the Strathdee rapid review into data on mental health inpatient settings, which itself was launched in response to well-documented failures in these settings. The aim of this new investigation into mental health is simple: to improve safety. In this blog, Karen West, Head of Transformation (Mental health) at Oxehealth, and Professor Dan Joyce from the University of Liverpool, discuss the importance of data in patient safety improvement and explain why inpatient mental health data is so difficult to collect and what can be done to improve this. -
Content ArticleDavid Lawson, who leads the Department of Health and Social Care medtech directorate, outlines how the medtech strategy will be implemented with patients.
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Content ArticlePatients and families are key partners in diagnosis, but there are few methods to routinely engage them in diagnostic safety. Policy mandating patient access to electronic health information presents new opportunities, and in this study, researchers tested a new online tool—OurDX—that was codesigned with patients and families. The study aimed to determine the types and frequencies of potential safety issues identified by patients with chronic health conditions and their families and whether their contributions were integrated into the visit note. The results showed that probable Diagnostic Safety Opportunities (DSOs) were identified by 7.5% of paediatric and adult patients with underlying health conditions or their families. Among patients reporting diagnostic concerns, 63% were verified as probable DSOs. The most common types of DSOs were patients or families not feeling heard, problems or delays with tests or referrals and problems or delays with explanation or next steps. In chart review, most clinician notes included all or some patient/family priorities and patient-reported histories. The researchers concluded that OurDX can help engage patients and families living with chronic health conditions in diagnosis. Participating patients and families identified DSOs and most of their OurDX contributions were included in the visit note.
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Content ArticleThe NHS.uk website averaged over 2,000 visitors per minute in 2022 and, while websites are hardly considered cutting edge, this technology is important to help make trusted and reliable health and care knowledge easily accessible to patients and the public. Web-based information, alongside access to medical records and personalised care initiatives, means people are potentially more informed to make decisions and be actively involved in their own care. However simply having access to information doesn’t necessarily make it useable.
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Content ArticleThe horrifying case of neonatal nurse Lucy Letby, convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder six others at the Countess of Chester Hospital, has raised hard questions for NHS leaders about how organisations respond to concerns about staff, but could digital systems help detect NHS staff who harm patients at an earlier point? If the pattern connecting Letby to the babies’ deaths had been detected by a digital system, would the response from the trust have been different? Would a machine have been believed? Alison Leary, chair of healthcare and workforce modelling at London South Bank University and a leading expert on nursing and data, suggests there is potentially a much bigger role for digital in patient safety.
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Content ArticleDelirium is a common but underdiagnosed state of disturbed attention and cognition that afflicts one in four older hospital inpatients. It is independently associated with a longer length of hospital stay, mortality, accelerated cognitive decline and new-onset dementia. Risk stratification models enable clinicians to identify patients at high risk of an adverse event and intervene where appropriate. The advent of wearables, genomics, and dynamic datasets within electronic health records (EHRs) provides big data to which machine learning (ML) can be applied to individualise clinical risk prediction. ML is a subset of artificial intelligence that uses advanced computer programmes to learn patterns and associations within large datasets and develop models (or algorithms), which can then be applied to new data in rapidly producing predictions or classifications, including diagnoses. The objectives of this review from Strating et al. were to: (1) provide a more contemporary overview of research on all ML delirium prediction models designed for use in the inpatient setting; (2) characterise them according to their stage of development, validation and deployment; and (3) assess the extent to which their performance and utility in clinical practice have been evaluated.
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This is part of our series of Patient Safety Spotlight interviews, where we talk to people working for patient safety about their role and what motivates them. James talks to us about the value of patient feedback in boosting morale and enabling organisations to make real patient safety improvements. He also describes the power of the unique perspective patients have on safety, and asks how we can use this insight to shift culture and provide safer care. -
Content ArticleHealthcare is where the "most exciting" opportunities for artificial intelligence (AI) lie, an influential MP has said, but is also an area where the technology's major risks are illustrated. Greg Clark, chairman of the Commons Science, Innovation and Technology Committee (SITC), said the wider adoption of AI in healthcare would have a "positive impact", but urged policy makers to "consider the risks to safety". He said: "If we're to gain all the advantages, we have to anticipate the risks and put in place measures to safeguard against that." An interim report published by the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee sets out the Committee’s findings from its inquiry so far, and the twelve essential challenges that AI governance must meet if public safety and confidence in AI are to be secured.
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Content ArticleThis investigation aims to improve patient safety by supporting healthcare staff in a surgical setting to select and insert the appropriate type of implant (vascular graft) for haemodialysis treatment. The Healthcare and Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) explored the factors that affect the ability of staff to safely select and insert vascular grafts for haemodialysis treatment. The national investigation focused on: The identification of factors within the healthcare system as a whole that influence patient safety risks associated with the selection and insertion of vascular grafts in an operating theatre environment. Exploration, using a systems approach, of the design of labelling and packaging used for the different types of vascular grafts for patients on haemodialysis treatment. Exploration of the impact on operating theatre teams of staff redeployment and repurposing of working environments in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Content ArticleThis free eGuide will aid your strategic communications design, and show you how you can develop strategic communications that support and educate populations and patients to make better lifestyle decisions and live healthier lives. In the eGuide, you’ll discover: Why is behavioural change critical for prevention? What are the fundamental elements of strategic healthcare communications. How to develop your vision for patient activation communications to become a reality. The guide is free, but you will need to submit your details download the Apteco guide from their website.
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Content ArticleErrors in patient identification have implications for patient care and safety, payment, as well as data sharing and interoperability. Different patient identification techniques ranging from unique patient identifiers and algorithms to hybrid models have been implemented worldwide. However, no current patient identification techniques have resulted in a 100% match rate. This study by Riplinger et al. identified some of the challenges associated with improper patient identification. The literature review showed six common patient identification techniques implemented worldwide ranging from unique patient identifiers, algorithmic approaches, referential matching software, biometrics, radio frequency identification device (RFID) systems, and hybrid models. The review revealed three themes associated with unresolved patient identification: 1) treatment, care delivery, and patient safety errors, 2) cost and resource considerations, and 3) data sharing and interoperability challenges.
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Content ArticleUsing new technologies in the NHS could bring multiple benefits. They could save healthcare professionals’ time, increase the number of people a skilled professional can support, and enable more sustainable workforce models. At the same time, they can promote safer and more personalised care. The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) have published their latest Collection brings together NIHR research demonstrating how digital technology can improve care while reducing the demands on staff.
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Content ArticleWhat exactly is machine learning and how is it being used in healthcare? Are machines always better than a person? How do we know? In this interview, Patient Safety managing editor, Caitlyn Allen asks these questions of artificial intelligence healthcare researcher Dr Avishek Choudhury.
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Content ArticleAs the NHS is approaching its 75th birthday, this report from the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change proposes how the NHS needs to transform if it is to survive.
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Content ArticleVideo of the 10th Annual World Patient Safety, Science & Technology Summit presentations. The event fostered a high-level exchange of ideas and initiatives to improve global patient safety with expert speakers and panelists, inspiring messages from hospital executives, and the sharing of tragic patient stories. The programme ignited further momentum to reach ZERO harm. You can view all the speaker presentations by clicking on the image below. There is also a link to the Patient Safety Movement Foundation website with all the presentations at the end of the page.
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NHS Long Term Workforce Plan (30 June 2023)
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in NHS England
The first comprehensive workforce plan for the NHS, putting staffing on a sustainable footing and improving patient care. It focuses on retaining existing talent and making the best use of new technology alongside the biggest recruitment drive in health service history. -
Content ArticleThis year marks the NHS's 75th anniversary, and is an important moment to look back at where the service has come from, consider where it stands today and to look forward to how it needs to change to meet future needs. This report from the NHS Assembly draws on the feedback of thousands of people who have contributed to a rapid process of engagement with patients, staff and partners. It aims to help the NHS, nationally and locally, plan how to respond to long term opportunities and challenges. It sets out what is most valuable about the NHS, what most needs to change, and what is needed for the NHS to continue fulfilling its fundamental mission in a new context.
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Content ArticleDevices and internet connectivity are essential for effective digital services but so are good design, co-development and trust. The use and beneficial impact of digital technologies and data is much more likely if technology is useable and trusted, while also meeting the needs and expectations of staff and patients. This King's Fund 3-minute read looks at human factors of digital healthcare.
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Content ArticleThe widespread adoption of effective hybrid closed loop systems would benefit people living with type 1 diabetes by improving the amount of time spent within target blood glucose range. Hybrid closed loop systems (also known as 'artificial pancreas' typically utilise simple control algorithms to select the best insulin dose for maintaining blood glucose levels within a healthy range. Online reinforcement learning has been utilised as a method for further enhancing glucose control in these devices. Previous approaches have been shown to reduce patient risk and improve time spent in the target range when compared to classical control algorithms, but are prone to instability in the learning process, often resulting in the selection of unsafe actions. This study in the Journal of Biomedical Informatics presents an evaluation of offline reinforcement learning for developing effective dosing policies without the need for potentially dangerous patient interaction during training.
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Content ArticleA key benefit of the new Learn from Patient Safety Events (LFPSE) service is its introduction of machine learning to hugely enhance the NHS’s capabilities for processing and analysing records of patient safety events. This podcast discusses how we plan to introduce machine learning in LFPSE, how this will support the NHS to improve patient safety, what changes staff will see as a result, our longer-term ambitions, and how providers can get involved in shaping this exciting new revolution in patient safety learning.
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Content ArticleThe government has published its mandate to NHS England. This mandate is intended to apply from 15 June 2023 until a new mandate is published. NHS England has a duty to seek to achieve the objectives in the mandate. The Secretary of State keeps progress against the mandate under review, setting out his views in an annual assessment which is laid in Parliament and published. The government will agree with NHS England how it should report on overall progress against the mandate to support the Secretary of State in keeping this under review. This will include reporting at agreed intervals on other delivery expectations listed beneath the objectives.
