Natalie Quinn-Walker, Healthcare Lecturer at Arden University, argues that automation should not be feared by those on the ground in the healthcare sector. Instead, it should be seen as a further tool in the armoury of an increasingly-stretched health service, particularly when it comes to supporting vulnerable patients.
The idea of automation tends to strike fear into workers across all sectors – the implication being that the machines are here to take away our jobs and make the traditional notion of the human workforce feel somewhat obsolete.
The good news, however, is that this is unlikely to be the case.
There are many tasks that computers struggle to complete with the same rigour as a human hand – from customer service roles such as bar and waiting staff, to management roles which require a complex mixture of experience in order to complete the job effectively.
But they do bring other attributes that front-line workers should find beneficial in the completion of their day-to-day roles.
In a healthcare setting, we should not be fearful about the onset of automation in the workplace.
Healthcare workers often complete their day-to-day roles in under-resourced, busy environments where automation could help to alleviate some of those pressure points – help join the dots and identify potential patient issues ahead of time, long before a GP would be able to do so.
These benefits are not just confined to resource levels.
Healthcare stands to benefit from automation because of the way in which it has to deal with the unpredictability of patients, who might be too embarrassed to reveal a condition to a doctor or have a worrying pattern of medical history which could be quickly analysed by automated systems to alert GPs to any potential red flags which may indicate a greater problem.
One potential usage case I’ve been researching is in the support of male abuse victims.
This is perhaps one of the most compelling cases for automation in healthcare as there are many underlying factors which mean that these victims are more likely to go under the radar and are therefore less likely to receive the support they need.
Office for Statistics figures suggest that one in seven men are victims of domestic abuse in their lifetime.
While we’ve come a long way as a society in recent years, deeply engrained gender stereotypes often mean it is complicated to encourage male victims to come forward and this heightens the risk of vulnerable individuals falling between the cracks.
Often, when it comes to abuse, there can be heightened levels of anxiety and worry when reporting it – regardless of one’s gender. However, for men, these anxieties are worsened due to the stereotypes they often face.
Despite ongoing efforts, gender stereotypes are still common in modern society, and can become problematic in a healthcare setting. We’re all familiar with traditional tropes such as ‘all women are over emotional’ or ‘all men are incompetent at multitasking’, for example.
Automation can help with this as it enables victims to come forward anonymously without the judgment people may unintentionally carry.
Automation can open doors for male victims – it will gather the data and facts needed without being influenced by stereotypes. It can allow victims to feel more comfortable, free of stigmatisation, and reduce the anxiety felt.
Automation can also connect the dots. It may notice previous injuries and flag them up as potential abuse.
Where a doctor may assume a man who has frequently come in with minor injuries is merely a little clumsy, automation can notice patterns and flag it up for professionals to delve more into.
Automation cannot solve all problems, and we can argue that the machines created by humans will always have human tendencies – therefore, they will still react differently towards male victims.
It cannot pick up on common tell-tale signs expressed via body language and facial reactions either.
It is also true to say that changes to laws, perceptions and stereotypes in order to make a long-lasting, effective change in society which enables vulnerable individuals to feel comfortable in coming forward and being heard.
However, automation may well be able to help us take a small step towards bridging that divide – supporting hard-pressed healthcare workers in their day-to-day jobs and opening up access to vital services for the patients who need it most.
