NHS England is embracing digital healthcare services. A range of new digital proposals were announced in June 2015.
digital healthcare services
1. Cost saving – it is estimated that going digital will save the NHS up to £5 billion over the next decade.
2. Time saving – an entire NHS Wi-Fi state would reduce the administrative burden on doctors, nurses and care staff, currently estimated to take up to 70 per cent of a junior doctor’s day.
3. Patient information – doctors and nurses to access the most up to date lifesaving information by 2018 for primary, urgent and emergency care services – and by 2020 for all other NHS funded services.
4. Telehealth – NHS patients with long term illnesses could soon be able to monitor their conditions remotely through high-tech clothing and wearable gadgets.
5. Video links – Skype consultations offer savings for the health service and within five years patients across the country are likely to be able to go online and speak to their GP via videolink; order prescriptions.
6. ePatients – the NHS is embracing the offering of digital services to patients, with more than 55 million patients set to benefit from progress.
7. Long term illness – by 2018 nearly three million people are expected to have at least three long-term medical conditions like diabetes and dementia.
8. ‘MyNHS’ digital service – has attracted over 200,000 visits since it was launched in September 2014.
9. Booking online – £160 million missed appointments cost the NHS each year and which could be clawed back by letting people rebook online.
10. Digital health records – NHS England says patients will have full access to their entire digital health record in real time by 2018.
NHS England has set out these ambitious targets and it will be an ongoing engagement process to get patients and healthcare professionals alike to embrace and manage these digital services. Share your thought on digital healthcare in Twitter or comment below.
