Healthcare at a crossroads: Why innovation can’t wait

By Mark Matthews of The Motivational Speakers Agency

Shafi Ahmed is a healthcare speaker, surgeon and innovator, known for leading the world’s first virtual reality operation.

As a Visiting Professor at Imperial College London, he has pioneered global surgical training through Google Glass and immersive technologies.

 

Beyond the operating theatre, Shafi co-founded Medical Realities and launched the Barts X Medicine Programme, shaping the next generation of digital healthcare.

Here, he shares his vision for healthcare powered by artificial intelligence, VR and remote learning.

Since the pandemic, we’ve seen an acceleration in digital health solutions. From your perspective, how are exponential technologies redefining the way we deliver and experience healthcare?

So what we’re seeing over the last few years, certainly after COVID, are exponential technologies that are really changing the way we look after our patients and also improve the outcomes.

We’re in this area of the P4, which is personalised, preventive, predictive and participatory healthcare, allowing patients to be at the forefront of healthcare.

So, these technologies are reshaping the way we imagine how a patient interaction might be carried out. Also, the whole process in the journey of the patient in the community setting and also the hospital.

And the aim of course is to use these technologies like big data, AI, machine learning, wearable technology and sensors, remote monitoring purposes, technologies like AI and VR to allow more therapy to be given to patients, and also things like nanobiotechnology to change the way we design new drugs, medications, using AI and deep machine learning.

The whole concept of healthcare is changing, evolving as well, to really make healthcare more accessible and more affordable.

Over the last decade, immersive technologies such as AR and VR have gained traction in clinical and educational settings. How are these tools transforming the way medical professionals are trained, and patients are treated?

Over the last decade we’ve seen augmented and virtual reality transform healthcare and also education, both medical and surgical.

For example, we’re seeing augmented reality smart glasses being used to train people remotely across the world.

We’re seeing virtual reality being used for therapy for patients, as well as providing education for medical students and for postgraduate training doctors around the world.

What it’s allowing is for people to perform a surgical operation in simulation using CG animation and interactive tools.

We’re now seeing things like AI chatbots and ChatGPT being used with avatars in the virtual environment to allow better conversation and communication, and training in that area.

What we’re seeing is a plethora of technologies in extended reality – AR, VR and MR – all being used concurrently to transform medical education, from the medical student to the consultant at the top of his profession.

Many healthcare organisations face resource pressures, ageing populations, and workforce shortages. How can leaders strategically harness emerging technologies to improve efficiency, patient outcomes, and long-term sustainability?

I think organisations, particularly healthcare, need to be quite wary of being disrupted.

They don’t want to have the Kodak moment, where they don’t disrupt enough themselves and then they in turn will be disrupted.

So, we need to think about how do you introduce innovative technologies to ensure that the workforce is working efficiently and smartly.

In the NHS, of course, and in the healthcare system around the world, we’re seeing a shortage of doctors and nurses, and we need to build a smarter workforce, number one.

Secondly, we know that, for example, healthcare resources are finite, they’re reduced, and we have a population that’s older, with more chronic diseases and with less resource spend on them.

So, we have to think about how organisations are using the same resources in a smarter way, providing healthcare that’s more affordable.

And I think what we have to do is just disrupt ourselves, to rethink models of healthcare – which is fundamentally broken in many parts of the world – and see how we can change using technology interfaces to improve the outcome for our patients.

Innovation is often cited as essential to progress, yet many institutions struggle to embed it meaningfully. What practical steps should organisations take to build a culture where innovation is truly part of their DNA?

Innovation has to be at the heart of every organisation, including health systems.

If we do not wish to be mediocre throughout our careers or through a lifetime, then we need to think about innovation.

My view is that we need to bring the culture of innovation into the heart of an institution, allow everybody to innovate, everybody to have time in their work to think about how do we disrupt, innovate our own work or indeed for a healthcare system.

By allowing people to be creative, to be innovative, we will redefine what’s possible in healthcare.

Otherwise, we have to accept mediocrity as the outcome.

And the question I ask is: do we wish to be mediocre, or do we wish to be world class and continually evolving our healthcare to the demands of patients in the future?

You’ve spent two decades working in conflict zones and low-resource settings. How has that humanitarian experience shaped your outlook on global healthcare, and what role can technology play in breaking down barriers to access?

I’ve learned about the use of frugal innovation – how to innovate in a resource-low setting to a large population.

I’ve also seen how technology enables barriers to be broken down – the geopolitical barriers that we create ourselves as a society – to allow patients in those areas to access healthcare.

It’s almost taking away the bricks and mortar, taking away the barriers, understanding how we get care to people who need it most.

I think technology has been the solution for a lot of these problems.

We’ve seen countries around the world who may not have the most first-class world healthcare system, but they are leapfrogging other parts of society by thinking differently, outside the box.

Using smartphones, using simple text messaging or indeed technology and AI to allow them to reshape what’s possible in healthcare.

So, I think technology and AI in particular has certainly allowed us to disrupt and democratise healthcare around the world.

Artificial intelligence is rapidly moving from theory to practice in healthcare. In your view, how is AI transforming clinical decision-making, diagnostics, and patient care – and what limits or safeguards should we keep in mind?

Over the last few years we’ve seen artificial intelligence become much more mainstream.

In fact, in the last year with the introduction of ChatGPT and the large language models, it’s almost revolutionising healthcare as we know it.

The future is actually going to change considerably.

We’re now going to be using chatbots and AI interfaces as the first point of contact between the doctor and patient, to allow better triage, for example.

We’re then using AI for diagnostic purposes – allowing you to diagnose on a chest X-ray or CT scan very quickly for a patient.

We’re also seeing navigation using CT/MRI related to either performing a surgical operation or navigating through a biopsy, or indeed through a headset looking to reshape and view a 3D model of, for example, anatomy.

So, AI has certainly been very much part and parcel of who we are at the moment and will aim to disrupt healthcare going forward.

We’ve seen, of course, AI produce its third drug using AI and deep machine learning.

We’re seeing patients with diabetes have better outcomes by predicting their disease on a retinal scan, looking at, for example, retinopathy – disease of the back of the eye.

We’re seeing patients with dermatological conditions being diagnosed remotely using a smartphone and AI.

Also, using ultrasound remotely that doesn’t require a trained sonographer – anybody now can put a scan onto somebody’s body and be able to diagnose.

What this allows us to do is to automate healthcare, make it more accessible.

So, the question always asked is: will AI replace doctors? Of course not.

AI will support or augment doctors, improve automation, improve the flow, improve the efficiency and accuracy of the diagnosis – allowing doctors ultimately to be more human and spend more time with their patients.