Dr Faris Al-Ramadani told delegates at National Health Executive’s digital health conference that we have “entered a new era” in digital transformation thanks to the upshift in digital literacy on the back of the pandemic.
Faris is a GP at St Wulfstan Surgery, clinical director at Warwickshire East Primary Care Network and a consultant in the health technology industry.
His keynote started our digital health online conference, when he detailed where digital is helping the NHS most, how it factors into the patient pathway and finally where technology can take the health service in the future.
In primary care, Faris explained that digital is helping in a number of areas, including:
- Patient registration
- Patient records
- Online triage/appointment booking
- Consultation
- Monitoring
- Referral
Explaining where primary care is going as part of its digital transformation journey, Faris broke the path down ahead into two parts…
He said: “Capacity on one side and quality on the other because in health we are dealing with finite resources so we need to maximise our capacity and use it as effectively as we can, but quality is critical too because good quality means good outcomes and that’s what patients need.”
AI may take up a more prominent role in care navigation as time goes on, added Faris.
“At the moment, many care pathways are based on legacy systems and don’t consider or incorporate the best of digital technology and, at PCN level, I’ve managed to allow digital to stimulate us to revisit pathways and how we’re treating pathways.
“We’ve done some great work around mental health pathways, based on reimagining them using new technology.”
On the capacity side, Faris further explained how digital can improve waiting list analytics, automate administrative functions and improve staff morale.
On the quality side, he gave his insight in population health data, clinical decision-making and tools, digital treatment tools, and enhanced remote monitoring.
To experience his full keynote, register here and gain access to the full day of leaders debates.
