Harnessing the power of digital data: so obvious, but increasingly obviously not straightforward
Welcome to the October edition of FHJ. As editor-in-chief of both the FHJ and Clinical Medicine, my focus is on getting the best for our patients, ‘blending’ the benefits of specialist driven care and processes with the general medical reality and requirements we all face at the front line. This issue addresses this directly in oncology patients1 and through a couple of excellent papers on ‘care bundles’. Pioneered in sepsis in the ICU setting, care bundles are increasingly ubiquitous in all areas of medicine. Some are complex and concerns have been raised about service reallocation and the opportunity costs of following these recommended approaches. The data presented suggest that resource allocation fears may not necessarily be borne out in reality, while simple bundles addressing challenging but compassionate areas such as feeding can have a dramatic positive effect for all concerned, likely reducing length of stay in many cases.
This is also the second of our series looking at the role of digital technology in healthcare. The manuscripts within this edition again offer a glimpse into the diversity of digital issues that can, and almost certainly must, be addressed by the healthcare sector if we are to deliver optimal healthcare to our patients.
Harnessing the power of digital technology seems so obvious, but the careful use and appropriate analysis of personal data at scale has evaded us, to a greater or lesser degree, to date. Using data to improve care does not need to be complex or technically challenging and initiatives either directly delivered in developing countries, such as MedNav,2 or with global reach that includes developing countries, such as digital journal clubs,3 show how simple use of technology can make a significant difference, both in clinical care and medical education. Harnessing the power of this technology relies on the workforce to embrace it; and as is pointed out in numerous papers throughout this edition, this requires a cultural shift (both inter- and intra-generational), a much better understanding of and education in medical technology (both the technical aspects and its appropriate use for patient benefit), and a system that can enable its use.
We already collect much data electronically; however, as highlighted in several papers, we do not always use our existing data in the most effective or joined up way. This maybe because we use a blunt analysis that lacks the necessary context, granularity and nuance (as highlighted by Eatock et al4) or because we do not join up our systems either internally or across primary, secondary and social care.
As the article by Johnston reminds us,5 digital maturity of the workforce is as vital as organisational technological digital maturity. This must include organisations knowing and acknowledging that, as with almost all of healthcare, one size will not fit all. To that end, we must not be seduced by technology, and, while Jeremy Hunt stated at the Health and Care Innovation Expo in September that all patients should be able to book appointments, order their repeat prescriptions and access their medical records online, we are reminded correctly by the RCGP that many patients do not have this immediate access to IT, nor necessarily wish to take this impersonal approach to their care. Overall, I think it is clear that we are making progress, albeit slower than many would like, and the issues that make it slow are clear to see in the offerings contained in this edition.
- © Royal College of Physicians 2017. All rights reserved.
References
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- Cooksley T
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- Duffy S
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- McGinnigle E
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- Eatock J
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- Johnston D
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