While the benefits of AI and technology are understood, two new reports highlight the challenges of convincing staff of the benefits.
The direction of travel might not be in any doubt, but the steps to get there are by no means clear. Two recent reports have highlighted the challenges, with one focused on the lack of productivity and efficiency gains of the digital transformation, and the other on the fact that implementing AI tools in NHS hospitals is a far greater challenge than initially anticipated.
The first report, from the BMJ Future Health Commission, a joint initiative between global healthcare knowledge provider BMJ Group and independent assurance and risk management provider DNV, highlights the scepticism of healthcare professionals towards digital health technologies.
Based on a survey of more than 300 healthcare professionals in Northern Europe, alongside in-depth interviews with clinicians and administrative staff across a broad range of healthcare settings, Less than half (47%) believe that digital technology has eased administrative tasks, just 38% say that it has reduced clinical workload, and only 44% believe that it has reduced the cost of delivering healthcare.
While 59% of healthcare professionals said that they actively trust digital health solutions, perhaps the report’s most perturbing figure is that a further 41% are hesitant or doubtful.
“Too few healthcare professionals think these technologies help them deliver more care with fewer resources,” said Stephen McAdam, segment director of digital health at DNV.
Very busy
The second report, from UCL, found that setting up the AI tools took longer than anticipated by the programme’s leadership. Contracting took between four and ten months longer than anticipated, and by June, 18 months after contracting was meant to be completed, a third (23 out of 66) of the hospital trusts were not yet using the tools in clinical practice.
Key challenges included engaging clinical staff with already high workloads in the project, embedding the new technology in ageing and varied NHS IT systems across dozens of hospitals and a general lack of understanding – and scepticism – among staff about using AI in healthcare.
“A key problem was that clinical staff were already very busy – finding time to go through the selection process was a challenge, as was supporting integration of AI with local IT systems and obtaining local governance approvals,” said Angus Ramsay, first author on the report and principal research fellow in the UCL Department of Behavioural Science and Health.
“AI tools can offer valuable support for diagnostic services, but they may not address current healthcare service pressures as simply as policymakers may hope,” he continued.
The researchers conducted their evaluation between March and September last year, studying ten of the participating networks and focusing in depth on six NHS trusts. They interviewed network teams, trust staff and AI suppliers, observed planning, governance and training and analysed relevant documents.
