The NHS cannot embrace AI until its basic IT systems are up to scratch

The NHS will struggle to embrace technological advances in areas such as AI because the underlying system is too slow and “terribly user-unfriendly”, according to one of Britain’s leading scientists.

Prof Sir Martin Landray, one of the founders of the British Recovery trial which has saved thousands of lives during the Covid pandemic, said it was “very frustrating” that the health service is far behind other industries such as banking and entertainment in using it. 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 cornerstone of Labour’s 10-year reform plan. Lord Darzi said the NHS was far more productive than that, and one part of the solution would be to “lean towards technology” by investing in IT systems, particularly in community services rather than acute hospitals.

“Mr. Darzi quite rightly pointed to the opportunity for increased productivity and quality of care,” Landray said last week. “But headline-catching 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, desktop clinical and office system basics are slow, unreliable and user-unfriendly, adding cost, time and frustration. Meanwhile data is in silos – hospital by hospital, GP surgery by surgery GP, with little, if any, available centrally on mental health or community care.

“For many years, the opportunities for technology and the wealth of underlying data have been linked – but both as practicing NHS clinicians and researchers it is very frustrating to see how far the NHS is lagging behind areas such as personal banking, commerce, and the entertainment industry.”

In an interview with The Times on Saturday, Darzi pointed out that only 1% of GP appointments are managed through the NHS application, although 80% of people in England are registered in it.

“If a bank has 80% of its customers on its app, it won’t like it if only 1% of them can access their current account through it,” he said.

The NHS has been trying to find ways to integrate data and create a federated data platform, a seven-year £330m project that has faced opposition after the contract was awarded to Palantir, the US firm founded by billionaire Peter Thiel. close to 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 for X-rays and other scans.

“From the discovery of new treatments to new diagnostics and biomarkers to the automation of routine processes, there are many ways in which healthcare can see remarkable change,” he wrote.

Layla McCay, director of policy at the NHS Confederation, said some NHS bodies were already providing “advanced treatment” for patients.

“But not all healthcare organizations are at the same level of digital maturity, and some are lagging behind due to the urgent need for investment and support,” he said, adding that the technological revolution “will not be cheap”. “Some of this is replacing outdated equipment, with reports of NHS staff having to wait too long for computers to boot or load,” McCay said. “But while digital infrastructure is important, there is a lack of focus on the skills and capacity to use and manage technology. Digital innovation and the latest technologies will only benefit patients and increase productivity if staff are properly trained and confident in using them.