As NHS waiting lists continue to ramp up and be a problem for thousands of people, two surgeons are using new technologies in artificial intelligence to scan waiting lists and warn patients of the risk of surgery.
Surgery can be a risky and time-consuming process, both in terms of preparation and performing it, and making the NHS more efficient could alleviate pressure on the health service. Credit: Gorodenkoff / Shutterstock
Professor Mike Reed and Dr Justin Green from the Northumbria Healthcare NHS Trust are utilising data science and machine learning to create bespoke risk profiles which should allow those on waiting lists to make a more informed decision as to whether they want to go through with a particular surgery.
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Working alongside Microsoft, using its Azure cloud-based software and its machine learning and AI dashboard, the information appears to work both ways.
Not only does it allow patients access to easy information, but it also allows healthcare professionals to reorganise waiting lists and place people respective to their associated risks.
This effectively allows them to reshuffle waiting lists based on who needs the most immediate medical attention and suggest alternate methods of treatment for those at high risk of death or illness from surgery.
Professor Mike Reed and Dr Justin Green from Northumbria NHS Trust pioneered the programme. Credit: Northumbria Healthcare NHS Trust
“This is a really exciting project that we hope can help the NHS nationally at a time when the service is facing increased demand and a backlog of operations", Professor Reed said.
“This technology can give us a better indication of how patients will fare so we can have much more meaningful conversations with them and better plan for their surgery".
In a video posted to the NHS Northumbria YouTube channel, Reed said the programme will "predict the risk" someone has from surgery, hinting that it will also allow them to know if a patient is likely to recover from said surgery.
The AI looks into patients' prior health problems, their age and other medical records to determine the best care options for them and could also allow for the successful prediction of the outcome of any surgery they go through with.
The two doctors hope this type of technology can become a "routine part" of the consultation process.
Dr Green described it as an "easy tool" for medical treatment and discussing the options for surgery.
One of the key advantages of using AI is to allow the NHS to deal with a significant backlog that has built up over the last few years, allowing for professionals to get patients through the surgeries in a far quicker and safer way.
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“Having so much additional information analysed in a really sophisticated way can make for much deeper patient interactions. We hope this will actually make the delivery of healthcare more personal and efficient," Green added.
“It should also help us, as clinicians, understand just how unique people are and provide more individual surgical care.”
- The full story can be found here.
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