The NHS cannot embrace AI until its core IT systems are up and running

The NHS is struggling to embrace technological advances in areas such as AI because its core systems are too slow and “not very user-friendly”, according to a leading UK researcher.

Professor Sir Martin Landray, co-founder of the UK Recovery Process, which has saved thousands of lives during the Covid pandemic, said it was “deeply disappointing” that healthcare lagged so far behind other industries such as banking and entertainment. data and technology.

The use of technology in the health service was a key part of Ara Darzi’s review of the NHS last week, which will form the basis of Labour’s 10-year reform plans. Lord Darzi said the NHS was far less productive than it could be and part of the solution would be to “lean towards technology” by investing in IT systems, particularly for community services rather than acute hospitals.

“Lord Darzi rightly points to opportunities to increase productivity and quality of care,” Landray said last week. “However, headline-grabbing technologies such as AI, patient portals and digital support systems require reliable, secure and well-connected data [and the basic systems to store and manage it].”

He added: “Currently, the basics of desktop clinical and office systems are slow, unreliable and devastatingly user-friendly, adding cost, time and frustration. Meanwhile, there is little if any data in storage – hospital by hospital, GP surgery by GP surgery, mental health or community care at all.

“There has been talk for many years about the capabilities of the technology and the wealth of underlying data – yet as both a practicing NHS clinician and a researcher it is very frustrating to see how far the NHS has fallen behind in areas such as private banking. trade and entertainment industry.

Interview together The Times on Saturday, Darzi noted that only 1% of GP appointments are managed through the NHS app, even though 80% of people in England are signed up to it.

“If a bank had 80% of its customers on the app, it wouldn’t be happy if only 1% of them could access their checking account through it,” he said.

The NHS has been struggling to find ways to integrate data and is creating the Federated Data Platform, a seven-year, £330m project that has faced opposition since the contract was awarded to Palantir, a US company co-founded by billionaire Peter Thiel, which is running. closely with the CIA.

Darzi said in his report that some parts of the health service are making good use of the technology, with 56% of NHS trusts already using AI tools to study X-rays and other scans.

“From the discovery of new treatments to novel diagnostics and biomarkers to the automation of routine processes, there are many ways in which the health service could see extraordinary change,” he wrote.

Layla McCay, director of policy at the NHS Confederation, said some NHS facilities were already providing patients with top-quality care.

“However, not all healthcare organizations are at the same level of digital maturity, with some falling behind due to the urgent need for investment and support,” he said, adding that the technological revolution “would not be cheap.” “Some of this is replacing outdated equipment, with reports that NHS staff are having to wait too long for computers to boot or charge,” McCay said. “However, while digital infrastructure is important, the focus has not been on the skills and capacity to use and manage the technology. The latest digital and technological innovations will only benefit patients and increase productivity if staff are properly trained and use them with confidence.