From diagnostics to disease management and administrative task, clinicians and patients are reaping the benefits of technology in healthcare. From its infancy, the technology has been used in medicine and clinical research. Advanced technological systems provide early diagnosis and help to deal with chronic diseases.
However, the health system is plagued by chronic problems which can be fatal and cost human lives. One of the biggest problems is the disorganization and underutilization of large health databases. This became even more visible during the coronavirus pandemic when the global health system was stretched to its limits.
The healthcare challenges
The question that concerns most experts is whether technology can save the health system. Can it help bring order and proper organization and contribute to the early treatment of future diseases. Dame Vivian Hunt, CIO, Optum, presented her perspective on this crucial question during the Dublin Tech Summit. Optum uses tomorrow’s technology to empower clinicians, transform the patient experience, and improve outcomes.
“No matter how talented a clinician you are or how talented technologist you might be, no matter how dedicated you are to doing your job well, if the system doesn’t work, if the healthcare system is not coordinated and working well, you won’t be able to create the outcomes that you are capable of or that our patients all deserve,” said Dame. According to her, today, the main challenges of healthcare are inefficiencies, lack of coordination, and ultimately poor outcomes.
“The front-line workers are incredibly committed but overburdened with administrative tasks, overwhelmed with unprioritized work, and hampered by a lack of cross-system coordination”. Despite incredible advancements in the medical field, challenges remain. Clinicians all over the world now spend a lot of time on paperwork. “Time-consuming administrative tasks are falling to care providers who are already overloaded and exhausted”, Dame noted. “Patients find the healthcare system too confusing or difficult to navigate”.
As Dame pointed out, the health system should be as user-friendly as banks, digital stores, or supermarkets. “We need innovative solutions to free up care provider’s time, give patients more information and control and ensure that we have a health system that works for all of us”, Dame underlined.
The role of technology
Technology can be transformative, making the healthcare system easier for patients and more personalized. That is why Optum uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) to create a healthier world with patients at the centre.
“Like all good technology work, we have guiding principles that underpin how we apply AI and ML alignment with our mission, fairness, trust, accountability, transparency, and privacy. We are helping clinicians do their work more efficiently so they can spend less time in the back office and more time with the patience,” said Dame, who believes that AI can support clinicians to make better and faster decisions.
“Linked data and powerful analytics tools allow our teams to help clinicians make better decisions, predict diseases, give patients the right treatment, and crucially prevent catastrophic, irreversible medical events. Identifying people who need help early is not only better value for money. It is preventative care, it saves lives”.
From her point of view, it would be irresponsible not to use the most powerful technology tools on the most essential issues in all our lives: the health and well-being of our families and our society. “Can technology save healthcare? In a world, yes. But only by making healthcare more human,” Dame claimed.
As providers continue expanding their healthcare technology, key benefits are realized across different healthcare sectors. The most significant technological advancements in healthcare include faster and more accurate access to patient records, better diagnosis, a more personalized healthcare system, and cost-effectiveness.
