Interactive technology, digital transformation, and why it could help save the NHS

Back in 2019, the NHS unveiled their long term plan that set out ambitions for improvement over the next decade.

Technological advances and digital transformation are at the heart of the 10-year plan. The strategy underpins the importance of technology in the future NHS; setting out the critical priorities that will support digital transformation and providing a step change in how the NHS cares for citizens.

The Versatility of Interactive Technology

Interactive technology has the potential to transform the way healthcare services are delivered due to its multiple uses across a variety of settings. It can be used to provide remote patient care, collaborate more effectively, and improve patient outcomes, all whilst reducing costs and NHS wait times.

Video Conferencing

Since the pandemic, video conferencing has become an important tool to enable clinicians to work more efficiently. Interactive technology allows for meetings and cross-site collaboration to be seamless, better organised and more effective.

With the ability to move interactive screens from one room to another, any space can be instantly made into a meeting room. Multi-disciplinary teams (MDT) rooms are now the standard in most hospitals and trusts, where interactive screens and Microsoft Teams collaboration devices are being used to enable faster decision-making, better communication and significantly reduced travel times.

Electronic Patient Record (EPR) Systems

An effective EPR system has been deemed essential as part of digital transformation in the NHS. By utilising interactive technology to deliver your EPR system, you can increase adoption by having a single point of reference for all EPR activities.

The Royal Bolton Hospital are a great example of how this can be implemented across an entire trust. Interactive technology was implemented across 50 wards at the hospital, giving staff a visual aid to track their patients; where they are up to in their care, what they need moving forward, what referrals they’ve had and what type of assessment they had completed.

By providing their EPR through interactive technology, The Royal Bolton Hospital were able to evidence an 85% reduction in paper usage and achieve a key milestone from the NHS long term plan.

Patient Rehabilitation

Interactive technology has the potential to support patient rehabilitation. Not only does it allow you to see measurable results, but it also makes rehabilitation fun and engaging for the patient.

We’ve developed the first Physical and Cognitive Rehabilitation Board (PCIRB) which builds relationships between the clinician and patient whilst getting the patient back to fitness and improving cognitive ability. As it can be used with multiple users, either as a tabletop or as a standard display, it enables clinicians to work with multiple patients at the same time to speed up the rehabilitation process.

Training and Learning

Technologies are being used to train students and medical practitioners before exposing them to real-life patients through interactive learning. It results in a reduction in learning time and gives them a better grasp of operating techniques through more realistic visuals.

We collaborated with the Charles Wolfson Centre to create the first operating and teaching space of its kind. We provided cutting-edge facilities for surgeons to receive closeup views of reconstructive procedures via HD cameras.

This means up to 60 students can view procedures in real-time, alongside the capability to use interactive technology to live stream to a larger audience. This allows for instant group collaboration, discussion, annotation and analysis.

As you can see from the above, interactive technology is one of the most versatile and cost-effective solutions you can implement as part of your digital transformation. To find out more, visit our digital healthcare page click here.

By IDNS