Big data and digital health critical to healthcare innovation, NHS Scotland staff say

Big data and analytics, digital apps and remote monitoring rank among the most important areas for future healthcare innovation, NHS Scotland staff have said.

The healthcare workers were surveyed in an independent poll commissioned by NHS partner, InnoScot Health.

A total of 88 per cent ranked big data and analytics as one of the most important areas for NHS Scotland innovation in the future.

Meanwhile, 88 per cent indicated that NHS Scotland should focus on digital health apps for processes such as delivering information to patients, real-time patient monitoring and collecting clinical health data.

A total of 86 per cent of the respondents believe that remote monitoring should be a major focus for the health service, while the same percentage called for an advancement of telemedicine.

Scotland’s Chief Scientist for Health, Professor Dame Anna, Dominiczak said:

“NHS staff are very much aware of the latest innovation possibilities for healthcare improvement and, not only that, they are extremely keen to help identify, develop, and pioneer their integration.

“This survey shows that there is an undoubted appetite for innovation-led change – from the ever more detailed picture that ethical big data and analytics can offer, to the reassurance that digital apps and remote monitoring can provide to both patients and NHS staff.”

The perspectives were gathered via online questionnaire, with 602 eligible responses gathered between October 3 and November 4, 2022.

The survey found that NHS workers with 11 to 20 years’ experience are most likely (93 per cent) to believe that remote monitoring should be a focus for the future.

Furthermore, those in the Health Science Services Staff Group category are most likely (89 per cent) to believe that AI should be an important focus for the future.

The same survey previously revealed that 90 per cent survey respondents believe innovation must be at the heart of improving NHS Scotland services and helping to tackle pandemic backlogs.

InnoScot Health Executive Chair, Graham Watson, said:

“Our survey is a timely snapshot of where NHS Scotland currently stands during one of its most difficult periods.

“It provides ample evidence of an innovation-ready workforce that wants to be part of improving services for both patients and staff, including the opportunity to use their own insight and ideas to drive forward change.

“The potential is vast, whether it is reducing current challenges, empowering patients to manage their own healthcare journey, or gaining important insights for new possibilities in diagnoses.”