By: Ankur Gupta, MS 1
The UK Department of Health is conducting a trial at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital (RNOH) in London of a system that tracks patients’ progress after spine surgery.
HealthUnlocked Tracker allows patients to record their progress on an iPad while in the clinic. After the patient is discharged, he or she can continue to update their information through an online system.
While monitoring patient progress is nothing new, this system gives medical staff live access to information on how patients are faring after different procedures. Dr. Matthew Shaw, the lead surgeon in the trial, states:
“Having accurate information at my fingertips about my patients’ recovery is groundbreaking. It ensures that I can quickly get to grips with their perspective and provide them with first-rate healthcare.”
In addition, patient compliance with progress reporting is sure to increase, as 95% of trial participants prefer the new digital method over traditional paper systems.
If this trial succeeds, the implications for the quality and efficiency of care could be groundbreaking. Surgeons can have access to personalized feedback on their patient outcomes – with this they can tailor their treatments to better address individual patients’ needs.
Hospitals could better quantify the efficacy of operations to assess their overall value. Regular patient reporting could also lead to physicians identifying post surgical complications such as infections quicker than with traditional follow up appointments.
Source: The Guardian
To be fair I have not had a placement at Stanmore , however I have heard enough about it to know, that although this use of technology is great, what about building a hospital that doesn’t have to have umbrellas up in the operating theatres, or where maybe it is a hospital, rather than a old of outside shacks built for the Blitz in WW2. redevelopment has been promised by successive governments, yet I am told by my orthopaedic colleagues not to believe it until you see it, in terms of the wonderful plans that have been drawn up.
So overall my point is that technology can be great, but let’s not forget about infrastructure!
Great point James. Basic infrastructure is always key and vital in
allowing new tools to be utilized properly.