Is technology adoption truly key to unlocking efficiencies in clinical workflows?

The spotlight has been on our healthcare system for the past year and a half as we’ve navigated and managed the immense COVID-19 challenge. During this time, it’s become evident that technology can, and should, play a critical role in shaping the future of health care.

One way in which technology is playing a vital role is by revolutionising clinical workflows, streamlining processes and offering patients the best possible care. The challenge though is that new technologies are often considered expensive or difficult to implement so decision-makers must identify what technology is truly going to benefit operations and have a lasting impact.

Here, I outline a few of the key ways technology can unlock and drive efficiencies in a clinical setting.

Improving precision

If we look at how ultrasound has evolved over the past few decades, we’ve witnessed significant developments ranging from the miniaturisation of devices to the evolution of real-time and 3D/4D imaging. On top of this, we now have probes that can plug into a smartphone, with integrated artificial intelligence (AI), to create a low-cost ultrasound system that even a novice can use to successfully acquire images pretty much anywhere.

While ultrasound has routinely been used in maternity clinics since the turn of the century — boosting pregnancy outcomes and identifying foetal defects — due to its widespread availability, portability and cost-efficiency it’s now widely used by a range of clinicians for a whole host of purposes. From detecting conditions affecting various organs, looking at the heart and blood vessels, to measuring and displaying the stiffness of tissues within the body, it’s now a ubiquitous tool.

As clinicians face immense pressure to do more in less time with fewer resources, tools such as ultrasound can help deliver quicker triage, creating efficiencies within the entire patient and clinician interaction.

Speeding up decision-making

Stroke is one of Australia’s biggest killers, with more than 445,087 Australians living with the effects. The first hour of symptom onset — the golden hour — is critical for patients, regardless of whether it’s a fresh stroke or recurrent stroke. Being able to quickly diagnose and make timely triage and treatment decisions within this time frame can have a lasting impact on the patient, long term.

In order to treat more Australians during this crucial time frame, and subsequently save lives and reduce lifelong disability, neuroimaging is urgently required to create detailed pictures of the brain. At EMVision, we’re developing a portable brain scanner that will make it possible to distinguish between ischaemic and haemorrhagic strokes in a matter of minutes — whether the patient is by the bedside in a hospital, or in the future, out in the community or in an ambulance.

In the same way that ultrasound can be deployed to wherever the patient is, our opportunity is to enable earlier diagnosis and treatment, improve patient monitoring after treatment and significantly reduce the long-term impact of stroke.

Supporting clinical teams

With many clinical teams already stretched thin, paired with shrinking budgets and skilled worker shortages, burnout and low staff morale are critical challenges.

Research in the UK found that one in three consultant clinical radiologists reported experiencing work-related stress that negatively affected their work, while a US study found that nearly one in two clinical radiologists experiences symptoms of burnout, with fewer than 25% happy at work.

Finding effective solutions to time-consuming tasks can unlock vital efficiencies in workflows. Take the transportation of patients in hospitals from intensive care to the radiology unit. This can be incredibly demanding on hospital resources, puts patients at risk during transport and directly impacts the time it takes to make a critical clinical decision. On top of this, as the world continues to tackle COVID-19, the transportation of patients also has infection control implications.

With portable imaging technology that can be brought to the bedside for rapid scans, this challenge is removed. It means patients in critical states no longer need to be moved from intensive care to radiology for neuroimaging, speeding up the time it takes to get results and reducing the burden on clinical teams.

Ultimately, innovation can play a vital role in streamlining clinical workflows; however, technology adoption alone should never be considered a quick fix. Having a set-and-forget attitude will result in failure as adoption requires continued upskilling and training to ensure staff at all levels are gaining benefit, clinical guidelines are improved and new technology is adding true value. As innovation continues to play a role in shaping the future of Australian health care, decision-makers must carefully consider what the future of their organisation is going to look like and technology’s critical role in successfully supporting patients and clinicians alike.

Image caption: EMVision CEO Dr Ron Weinberger alongside the company’s clinical prototype brain scanner (L) and an ultrasound system (R).