The government will make available an additional £394 million every week for the NHS, with the aim being to cut waste, improve survival rates for cancer patients and deliver better mental health services.
The extra money will certainly boost service provision, but to effectively meet these targets, the NHS needs to embrace digital technologies, and fast. The latest research shows that chronic illnesses such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes now account for a startling 90 percent of annual deaths in the UK. In fact, the World Health Organization predicts that chronic disease prevalence is expected to rise by 57 percent by the year 2020.
Digitisation in Healthcare
Digitisation and technological advancements offer new ways to fight back against these so-called lifestyle diseases. For instance, in 2017, 90% of households in Great Britain had internet access, with 73% of adults accessing the internet “on the go” using a mobile phone or smartphone. Easy access to technology and its prevalent use worldwide means that new delivery models are emerging to address growing chronic care demands.
Reaching out to patients, and the general public via technology is the way forward. Immediate communication, as well as the ability to harness the resulting patient data, can help doctors, nurses, GPs and medical researchers treat many illnesses quicker and more efficiently. Curaizon uses the blockchain to deliver such technologies that can save lives. Its enhanced and standardized data analysis can be effective in areas such as predictive medicine, patient relationship management, management of healthcare and measuring the effectiveness of certain treatments. And, as the amount of data grows, it helps the health sciences have a better understanding of the precise nature of diseases and pathways to develop personalised treatments. Use of these new technologies will place a greater emphasis on preventive health solutions and patient-centric care.
Big data, artificial intelligence & machine learning tools such as those offered by Curaizon are critical to improving healthcare provision. For instance, real-time patient data can help doctors, researchers and caregivers understand the underlying reasons for medicine non-adherence, which stands at only 50% worldwide. These insights can be used to remind patients to take their medications on time, as well as help researchers develop better medicines, with fewer side effects for example, and ultimately drive up adherence rates.
As disease prevalence continues to rise, so will the need for collaboration as nationwide pressures on our healthcare systems increase. Digitisation gives the central government, local authorities and healthcare providers across the country the opportunity to work closely together to offset growing financial burdens, enhance service efficiencies and deliver better outcomes.
Curaizon’s data and information will drive major changes in healthcare, improving the quality of care, drastically improving patient outcomes while reducing waste. By providing healthcare services with effective tools, the NHS can help deliver the kind of services patients and healthcare providers want and need.
