January 25, 2023
Pictura Bio CEO Shares His Predictions About The Future of Technology in the NHS
In a recent article published in Health Tech World, Pictura Bio’s CEO and Co-founder, Alex Batchelor, discusses how health technology and artificial intelligence (AI) can improve the NHS in 2023, as well as some of the challenges we are likely to face as we move towards a more digitalised healthcare system.
In the aftermath of COVID-19, the NHS has struggled to cope with the number of patients seeking medical care. As a result, patient care has deteriorated, which in some cases has cost lives.
Batchelor believes that the inefficiency of the NHS is one of the major causes of its shortcomings and that we must solve this by employing new health tech innovations. Below is a brief overview of his thoughts about the future of technology and healthcare in 2023.
- AI could transform healthcare
AI is an inevitable part of our future and it could benefit the NHS by improving systems and procedures. Specifically, AI technology can automate time-consuming processes, such as data analysis, to improve speed, accuracy and efficiency, whilst freeing up the time of medical staff so they can focus on patient care.
- Regulation will hold up innovation
Although AI has the potential to significantly improve the efficiency of the NHS, current regulatory guidelines were written before it existed, which will continue to slow the approval of new products.
- The pool of AI engineers will grow
Another holdup of health tech innovation is a lack of people who are skilled in AI because it is a relatively new field. However, as the industry expands, we are likely to see more talented engineers joining the AI development workforce in 2023, which will help progress innovation.
- Economic turmoil will delay investment
The recession in the UK will also delay health tech innovation in 2023 because investors are less likely to provide funding in the face of economic uncertainty. On the other hand, this does offer a valuable opportunity to come up with strategies to help the NHS save money.
- Advances in diagnostic technology
It is inevitable another COVID-style virus will emerge in the near future, which will drive the development of better diagnostic tests that can accurately and quickly identify multiple different viruses. These types of tests will enable people to determine what illness they have so that they can isolate themselves if necessary or seek appropriate treatment, helping limit the spread of viruses and reducing the impact on the NHS.
- The NHS will struggle to cope with the ‘tripledemic’
A combination of flu, COVID-19 and RSV is putting GPs and hospitals under immense pressure this winter. The knock-on effects of this are likely to stretch over 2023 and only worsen the situation in the NHS and create further delays in services.
Batchelor stresses that the inefficiency and pressure on the NHS are the most important things to address in 2023. To tackle this, he believes that the ultimate goal for this year should be developing a universal diagnostic test for infectious diseases which will limit the spread of illnesses and reduce the number of patients seeking NHS services.