Transforming the medical landscape through virtual healthcare

We’ve been trying to drive virtual consultations forward for years. Now we’ve got consultants understanding the value, they’re knocking down our door wanting to get involved. It’s one of the few benefits coming out of the pandemic.

Sometimes even the most sensitive news is best delivered at home

I’ve been in a situation where a relative received a terminal diagnosis, and we then had to get in a car and drive for 40 minutes, sitting in traffic. So maybe you don’t want to be told you’ve got cancer on a video call, but maybe you do. I think it’s really important that we don’t make assumptions, but instead give people real choice.

AI will power home hospitalisation

Imagine a patient is recovering at home from a knee operation. They’re following a rehab programme virtually online, tracking their pain and recovery through an app each day. This would allow more patients to undergo recovery at home and help consultants quickly identify those patients who need a more focused and hands on support.

Virtual and remote healthcare allows patients to access specialists through their computer screen or phone. In many instances this technology will help manage specialist care for some of the most complex and chronic conditions. Whilst for others who suffer from poor mental health, coming to a physical location can be difficult. Virtual consultations offer up the opportunity for a more comfortable, candid conversation.

There is real value in secondary care

It’s great to see people of all ages embracing technology. Virtual follow-ups are really seeing traction now. From my own experience, driving to an outpatient appointment for an injured shoulder means hours out of my day, car park charges, petrol charges, impact on the environment. Then, six weeks later, you have to do it all over again, just to be told: ‘Your scan is OK’.

The future of healthcare looks different

When we think of healthcare, we think of going to see the doctor or going to a hospital. That’s not what healthcare is really about. It’s about getting the best outcomes for patients. This global pandemic has forced people to do things differently. I think people who were sceptical will realise that virtual and remote care can work. In fact, it can be a better way of doing things. It has shown people that they have a choice. I think that’s a profound shift in the way we think about healthcare.

I can see the use of remote care going further. After this crisis, many people may be reluctant or scared to go to a hospital. We’ll see technology move into the home, enabling us to do a broad range of care services in the home setting. Already on a basic level your phone can act as a supercomputer. Through healthcare applications you can take an ECG and manage blood pressure. With further advances doctors will be able to monitor a patient’s data from afar for a quicker diagnosis, helping to improve outcomes.

So now more than ever, I think monitoring patients and providing them with hospital care at home is likely to come in the next few years. Potentially patients will feel much more comfortable receiving treatment or monitoring their recovery at home than they would in a hospital; and of course it’s a lot more cost effective.