Waiting times in English A+E departments: What does the data say?
I was reading a BBC article from 2 days ago about the increased waiting times in Accident & Emergency (A+E) departments in England, The article highlights that the lack of access to GPs has been raised as a contributor and the controversial government plans for £250m funding for GP surgeries to see more patients face-to-face. […]
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How can data help improve Covid-19 vaccination uptake rates?
The vaccine hesitancy rate in Great Britain has reduced overall during 2021 and has plateaued at 4%. Note: Vaccine hesitancy includes those who have been offered a vaccine but declined the offer; are very or fairly unlikely to have the vaccine if offered; are neither likely nor unlikely to have the vaccine if offered; don’t […]
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NHS waiting lists – 3 key elements to consider
The worsening NHS waiting lists is a hot topic, from a patient outcome perspective as well as operationally and financially for the NHS, and of course politically. The following are 3 key elements to consider when starting to understand the issue and identifying potential solutions: Overall number The waiting list is currently 5.6m, a 32% […]
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Can learning together make health AI solutions better?
I was recently reading an article about Vertical Farming – crops are grown indoors in a ‘stack’ under controlled environmental conditions (i.e. lighting) and using no soil. (If you want to read the book that bought it to the mainstream, and I have just started to read it, check out The Vertical Farm: Feeding the […]
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We really need to rehaul how technology is paid for in the NHS
Continuing on my Disney theme, the recent news that Scarlett Johansson is suing Disney over the streaming of the ‘Black Widow’ movie caught my attention and reminded me of an important issue related to digital health in the NHS – how technology is paid for. So, what happened? Disney streamed the new movie at the […]
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Time to rethink how we gather feedback in the NHS?
I have been reading the book ‘If Disney ran your hospital – 9 ½ things you would do differently’. It’s a different and interesting take on how to put patient experience at the centre, written by someone who has experience working both within the US hospital system as well as at Disney. While patient ‘loyalty’ […]
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Using data to customise implementation on change in healthcare
I resisted signing up to Netflix until very recently because I was struggling to find the time to watch the programmes that was filling up my Sky box. I signed up because of my kids (that’s my story and I’m sticking to it). Apart from the interesting and original content, I have long been an […]
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Process mining – getting to know your data
Before you start doing any detailed analysis of a dataset, especially if it a new dataset or one you are not familiar with, it is a good idea to spend a bit of time getting a feel for the data. This will save you time in the longer term and help you get better overall […]
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Can Apple build the best wellbeing services?
Rockley Photonics (Apple is a big customer) recently announced that it has come up with a ‘clinic-on-the-wrist’, a continuous and non-invasive solution for monitoring biomarkers including glucose, blood pressure and body temperature. With the Apple Watch already having ECG and blood oxygen level monitoring, the above leads to some interesting possibilities on how Apple can […]
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Process mining as a framework for AI
I have recently started to learn about process mining and how it can help with analysis of healthcare data. Process mining needs ‘timestamp’ of activities, for example when a particular ‘activity’ (for example, a surgical procedure or an investigation such as a CT scan) started and was completed. This allows us to understand the ‘pathways’ […]
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