The National Healthcare Expo 2019 Conference was held in late November in Milton Keynes. In my presentation in the eHealth Track (presentation and video links included in this article), I outlined 3 points to think about when looking at the future of Digital Technologies in Healthcare and Medicine. The digital technologies which will have the biggest impact on global health will not have been designed by or for medical professionals Consumer technologies, sometime referred to as “general” technologies are being applied across almost all sectors of business and society for purposes which were not originally envisaged or intended. The health sector is a good example in which all of the technologies shown below are now being applied for health and well-being :- • Smartphones • Fitness Trackers • Whatsapp and WeChat • Virtual Reality Headsets • Panoramic Cameras • Artificial Intelligence • Sensors With the possible exception of fitness trackers, none of these technologies were developed by or for medical professionals. There are some profound implications, not only for the future of healthcare but also for the roles and responsibilities of health professionals and citizens. The graph below shows how digital technologies for health are shifting from expensive, stand-alone, proprietary technologies to smart, connected, consumer technologies.

1. Digital Medicine Applications &
Hospitals of the Future
National Healthcare Expo
Milton Keynes Nov 26th 2019

2. Three Things to Think About
 The digital technologies which will have the biggest impact
on global health will not have been designed by or for
medical professionals
 Artificial Intelligence (AI) and associated technologies
present the biggest threat/opportunity to human health
and wellbeing
 Hospitals of the past/present are part of a National
Sickness Service – Hospitals of the Future will be part of an
International Health/Wellbeing Service

3. Impact of Digital Technologies on Professions
Every knowledge-based profession will be affected by the consumerisation of digital technologies

4. The digital technologies which will have the
biggest impact on global health will not have
been designed by or for medical
professionals

5. Causes of Morbidity by Age
Source: Public Health England

6. Cost of Lifestyle Related Disease

7. Top 10 Causes of Death 2016

8. The Problems
 The cost of lifestyle related medical conditions is becoming
unsustainable
 The ageing society and greater longevity increases the costs whilst
reducing the sources of income
 The vast majority of the population enjoy sub-optimal health
 There is a timelag between the cause and effect of lifestyle
behaviours
 There is an expectation of high quality expert healthcare regardless
of circumstance, ability to pay or personal responsibility

9. Consumerisation of Digital Technologies

10. Examples of Consumer (General) Technologies
 Smartphones
 Fitness Trackers
 WeChat
 Virtual Reality Headsets
 Panoramic Cameras
 Artificial Intelligence
 Sensors

12. Digital Solutions
Clinical Solutions
Designed for medical professionals
High capital costs
Aimed at clinical productivity and accuracy
Focused on fixing medical problems
Consumer Solutions
Designed for citizen daily/ambient use
Low capital costs
Aimed at personal healthcare
Focused on preventative medicine

13. Consumer Tech in Digital Medicine Example
Virtual Reality
 Training and Education
 Pain Management
 Mental Health inc Stress Management and Dementia
 Rehabilitation Therapy
 Diagnostics
 Remote Surgery
 Virtual Hospital Tours and Navigation
Real-time feedback and data analytics!!

14. Mental Health

15. Rehabilitation Therapy

16. Perfect Storm of Technologies
A cocktail of disruptive and inter-dependent technologies

17. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and associated
technologies present the biggest
threat/opportunity to human health and
wellbeing

18. AI & Digital Solutions

19. Hospitals of the past/present are part of a
National Sickness Service – Hospitals of the
Future will be part of an International
Health/Wellbeing Service

20. Hospitals of the Future
Guigian International General Hospital

21. Hospitals of the Future
 Community Hubs of Social and Economic Development
 Citizen-focused and holistic
 Catalysts for innovation and enterprise
 Multi-disciplinary
 A vital component for a healthy society

22. Opportunities and Challenges of Digital Technologies
 Many potential clinical applications
 Operational efficiencies
 Patient engagement
 Dependent on cocktail of dependent technologies
 Challenges to existing medical roles and responsibilities
 Threat to what makes us human beings

23. Digital Medicine Applications &
Hospitals of the Future
National Healthcare Expo
Milton Keynes Nov 26th 2019