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Health care's technology-driven transformation

July 16, 2013 by Lucy Bateman — Business Development Manager, Cammax Limited

Since its birth in 1948, the U.K.'s National Health Service has not only grown to become the world's largest publicly funded health service, but has also seen a lot of changes along the way — many of which are a result from the advances in technology.

Digitalized medical health care is driving the next wave of changes to the NHS system in an attempt to reduce health care costs, improve health services and respond to patient demands more efficiently. From providing health information and prescription dispensing, to appointment-making and check-in; the movement toward digitizing health care is revolutionizing the NHS system as we know it.

Check-in

Enhancing all aspects of the medical process, integrated digital kiosks are modernizing the health care system by capturing and managing patient data in a variety of new ways. With touchscreen kiosks, patients are able to check in for their appointments at a few taps on a computer screen, therefore streamlining the process and making it more convenient. Not only this, but patients can ensure data accuracy by taking control of the whole process — something that consumers are becoming increasingly conscious about.

Touchscreens in hospitals and doctor's offices put the control in the users hands, meaning patients no longer have to rely upon staff that may otherwise be occupied. This not only leads to satisfied patients, but also frees up staff, creating the opportunity to redeploy them to more valuable roles.

Information

Our reliance upon mobile and tablet devices means touchscreens are now a familiar method of interaction. With this in mind the way in which we access and process day-to-day information is being reinvented.

NHS Direct provides expert health advice and information 24-hours a day, 365 days a year — dealing with more than 1 million patients every 36 hours. According to NHS Direct, of the web users receiving self-care advice, 33 percent would have gone to see their general practitioner, and 4 percent would have gone to ambulatory and emergency if NHS Direct had not been available.

These statistics are significant as they show that by delivering multichannel health services for patients, visitors to surgeries and hospitals decrease; therefore freeing up time for nurses and doctors. The deployment of touchscreen kiosks lessens the need for patients to see health care professionals, by dealing with a wide range of health queries. At the same time they offer health care professionals the opportunity to make gains in productivity which can be used for more valuable roles. Information kiosks can distribute information in key and high footfall locations such as hospital receptions, doctor surgeries and public places, delivering improvements in the quality of service.

Wayfinding

Digital wayfinding is of a significant benefit to patients trying to get to specific areas of hospitals. Touchscreen LCDs or kiosks placed in reception areas enable visitors to pinpoint where they are in relation to the lay-out of the building, not only making the experience more efficient and stress free for visitors, but also ensuring that patients make appointment times and reducing staff interruption to ask for directions. Patients can map their route from their location to their required destination and print out directions via the kiosk.

Digital signage, which can be controlled remotely and updated immediately, can also be implemented alongside wayfinding kiosks in order to provide further digital assistance to patients.

Dispensing kiosks

Patient facing dispensing kiosks offer a fast and convenient way for the patients to collect non-prescription items without the need for human intervention. This not only enables patients to collect items such as condoms and Chlamydia tests out of pharmacy hours, but also frees up pharmacists and clinicians from administering the counter, allowing them to spend more time on other jobs such as consulting patients.

Dispensing kiosks can prove particularly invaluable in busy city center clinics with limited staff, in rural communities where pharmacists are few, and within accident and emergency environments; where they allow instant and 24/7 access to non-prescription items that may be required.

About Lucy Bateman

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