The NHS is plagued with long waiting lists, chronic underfunding, staff shortages, and a high rate of staff burnout. In Sept 2023, there were around 7.77m people waiting for treatment and the stress is showing in recent figures that revealed a third of NHS employees to have reported burnout. Digital investment is critical for transforming the NHS, but it alone will not fix everything—we also need to evaluate the way different teams are working together.

Digital transformation requires more than just technology to improve patient experiences

The digitalisation of systems will need to focus on enabling clinical and non-clinical staff to work better, simplify information sharing, and be intuitive and easy to use. Digital transformation opens up a wealth of opportunities to improve productivity with new ways to automate routine tasks, develop new roles, and redefine the way multidisciplinary teams work together.

Simply adding more staff independently of reviewing digital technologies will not increase capacity. New roles need to be carefully designed, clinically led, and committed to driving productivity across the care pathways. Similarly, implementing advanced medical billing software for small business isn't just about integrating technology; it's about crafting efficient processes, guided by clinical insights, and dedicated to optimizing the revenue cycle within these smaller healthcare enterprises.

For example, the College of Radiographers reorganised its team structure, creating two new roles in the process: Mammography Associates and Assistant Practitioners. Both of these roles have a defined scope of practice, and now approximately 30% of the workforce is in these roles.

Digital maturity

In 2021, it was projected that only 20% of NHS organisations would be digitally mature in 2023, although 86% are expected to have a form of electronic patient record in place.

A wider use of technology is essential to improve patient and staff well-being and speed up journeys through care pathways. The challenge for technology leaders is the amount of old disparate systems in place, which are compromising the move to a fully digital environment. On top of that, staff have worked in a very well-established environment and are likely to be resistant to change.

To overcome these challenges, new technology must:

  • Embrace APIs to integrate easily into existing systems
  • Be intuitively designed and easy to use
  • Not require pre-training in technical skills
  • Provide tangible internal and external benefits

How communication APIs could alleviate what’s ailing the UK healthcare sector

The rise of the virtual ward will make a strong case for good digital communication channels to connect patients and clinical teams. Technology that has communication APIs allows patients and clinicians to engage more effectively across multiple applications and deliver complete integrated and excellent patient experiences, every time.

Personalised care from a distance has been shown to provide reassurance and independence for patients living with chronic diseases and has been associated with lower mortality and emergency admission rates.

Many patients are willing to use digital technology to avoid going into hospitals. NHS England's 2023/24 Winter Plan reiterated the favour of virtual wards, confirming a target of 40-50 virtual wards per 100,000 people and here we consider how integrated communication experiences can help.

Delivering the human touch

Accessibility extends both ways. Using a secure video connection, clinicians are better able to assess changes in a patient’s condition and deliver a more personalised level of care, connecting in real-time to provide reassurance and independence for patients.

Connecting with video also allows clinicians to see more people in less time while fostering caring relationships and faster diagnosis.

Sustained engagement through patient-care pathways

Effective, real-time, two-way communications between patients and clinicians is essential to keep patients safe and deliver the care they need. SMS and chat apps increase accessibility and inclusivity while providing an ‘always open’ communication path between clinicians and patients. Clinicians can engage patients in their care management plan and send educational resources, health tips and personalised information, which has been shown to improve overall patient satisfaction and health outcomes.

Managing workflows and automation

The use of additional channels calls for a better way to consolidate and manage interactions. It is essential to choose a communications platform that offers the simplicity to integrate and manage these channels to enable a highly scalable and composable environment.

8x8’s Contact Centre and Communication APIs allow for the management of communications and workflows from a single platform to enable secure, remote consultations and interactions that improve patient care.

Highly-intuitive user interfaces and easy-to-use drag-and-drop features allow for simplicity in creating automated workflows to manage repetitive processes, personalise patient care, and increase overall efficiency.

Digital Investment

A recent report highlighted the need for strategic capital investments to enable all trusts—be they acute, mental health, community or ambulance—to improve productivity, operational performance and patient care.

Years of underinvestment have led to significant deterioration in NHS infrastructure putting risks to patient safety, quality of care and long waiting lists. Providing leading-edge communications solutions will be a significant step in the right direction to improve patient journeys through care pathways.

Conclusion

Miscommunication can result in poor outcomes and inefficiency with HR Director reporting that 72% of business leaders believe that effective communication has increased their team’s efficiency and productivity.

Digitalisation of communications and Communications APIs open up new channels to deliver engaging, self-service experiences that connect clinical workers and patients with personalised, integrated care experiences.

Discover more: Download our guide The Prescription for Overworked, Understaffed Healthcare Organisations - Why Communication APIs Could Alleviate What’s Ailing the UK Healthcare Sector.

Related Articles