The "AI" Revolution can put "Patients at the Centre of NHS.

Video Of The Week - United Hatzalah (Medical volunteers) - https://tinyurl.com/3uz7ddur

 For the full Article by Rachel Sylvester, The Times, go to https://tinyurl.com/559av29j

 A robot shows patients around the emergency department at  Sourasky Medical Center,Tel Aviv. People register digitally, through facial recognition, then measure their own blood pressure, temperature and heart rate in “self-triage” booths. Patients are given a barcode and number to their phone, which they can track. The most serious cases are seen within minutes. Virtually no one waits more than an hour. This is the largest emergency department in the Middle East, with its own air raid shelter and special ventilation system to withstand biological attack. Patients flow efficiently. Data analysts monitor screens that show bed capacity and operating theatre slots, using artificial intelligence to predict surges in demand and reallocate staff.

The hospital is reinventing healthcare. Consultants use AI to improve diagnosis. Surgeons operate with headsets to visualize the inside of the patient’s body . Labs create precision medicine, linked to a person’s unique genetic code.3D printers make personalized waterproof casts.

In Israel they are revolutionising the system, using technology to empower patients, liberate doctors, improve efficiency and drive down costs. By harnessing data, they have been able to simultaneously personalise treatment and reduce burnout among staff. Doctors can instantly access a patient’s medical history through an electronic health record and individuals can book appointments, see the results of scans or order prescriptions using an app.

Innovation is celebrated. Clinicians are encouraged to think like entrepreneurs. More than 600 health tech companies gathered at the annual Biomed conference in Tel Aviv. I met an orthopedic oncology surgeon who designed a way of creating personalised surgical tools on a 3D printer, and a cardiologist who  developed an AI tool for non-specialists to accurately read heart scans.

Sheba Medical Center, Israel’s biggest hospital, has a portfolio of tech start-ups worth $2 billion. Founder doctors keep 35 per cent of the profits with a proportion also going back into patient care. Another $2 billion has been generated through collaboration with the private sector. Sheba has an entire virtual hospital, with hundreds of patients who are monitored remotely with wearable technology. Sensors in the ceiling use radar to check a patient’s heart rate, breathing pattern and whether someone is at risk of a fall. Even radiology can be done at home. The hospital is delivering equipment by drone and using robots to change sheets.

In Britain, the NHS reels from crisis to crisis. There is an appetite for reform .32 million people have signed up for the NHS app but 12 per cent of hospitals are still paper-based. Only a fifth of GP practices let patients see their medical records online. The NHS remains largely analogue. The computers are hopelessly out of date. There are multiple IT systems and no requirement for interoperability. There are at least 21 different types of electronic patient records  and 34 apps to book an appointment. The case for reform is overwhelming but innovators are being thwarted by the fragmented system or vested interests seeking to block reform. The BMA threatened legal action against plans to give patients automatic access to their medical records. Technology is a threat to the medical establishment because it will turn the relationship between doctor and patient on its head, allowing people to take back control over their own health.

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