Hospitals will be offered extra cash for swapping human staff for AI computers as the NHS tries to cut out 30million appointments every year
- Simon Stevens, the chief executive of NHS England revealed the policy change
- He said he wants the health service to become a world-leader in using AI
- Computers could be used to interpret the huge numbers of MRI and CT scans
The NHS will start paying hospitals to use more machines instead of human staff, it has announced.
As part of a plan to become a ‘world-leader’ in the use of artificial intelligence in healthcare, the NHS will use money to motivate hospitals to make the switch.
Computers could be used to review scan results and determine whether patients’ need referring, potentially putting the jobs of staff like radiologists at risk.
But technology will streamline the service, it is hoped, saving more than £1billion and cutting out 30million ‘unnecessary’ outpatient appointments.
NHS England chief executive, Simon Stevens (pictured in July 2018), revealed hospitals would start getting extra funding for using AI technology from April next year
NHS England’s chief executive, Simon Stevens, revealed the policy in a speech at an event hosted by the Reform think-tank in London yesterday.
It is hoped using more computer technology will free up staff for other jobs which computers can’t yet do.
Mr Stevens said: ‘We are seeing an artificial intelligence revolution that will be a big part of our future over the next five years, with technologies that can cut the time patients wait for scan results and ease the burden on hard working staff.’
He said the new financial policy would start in April next year, when hospitals would be offered extra funding for embracing AI technology.
The NHS announced it wanted to use AI to interpret MRI and CT scan results, of which there were 835,000 in March alone in England, in its Long Term Plan earlier this year.
And the Government currently has a competition open offering a total of £240,000 for organisations to try and develop ways to diagnose broken bones with AI.
HOW COULD THE NHS USE MORE TECH AND AI?
A report published earlier this year by US academic Eric Topol revealed numerous possible applications of advanced technology and artificial intelligence the NHS could use.
Evidence suggests the technology could save 5.7million hours of GPs’ time across England every year, the report says.
Suggestions included smart speakers, such as Amazon’s Alexa, being used as ‘mental health triage bots’ which engage in conversations while analysing text and voice to spot suicidal ideas and emotion.
Virtual reality could be used in reducing pain and distress for wounded patients, and for treating anxiety, phobias and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Artificial intelligence (AI) could save time in interpreting scans such as mammograms, eye scans and pathology slides, and also improve the accuracy of diagnoses, the report said.
And the assistance of robots in surgery could be expanded, while they could also automate repetitive tasks such as dispensing drugs in pharmacies.
The report added that using phones or Skype for diagnoses and treatment has the potential for significant time and money saving.
An AI system being trialled at Moorfields Eye Hospital in central London has shown it can correctly identify 50 eye diseases with a success rate of 94 per cent, an accuracy on par with top doctors, the NHS said.
Mr Stevens added: ‘We want the NHS to be first out of the blocks, so from April next year we propose to change the way we fund care so that NHS organisations who invest in this world-leading technology will be properly rewarded for doing so.
‘We’re therefore kicking off a global “call for evidence” for NHS staff and technology innovators to come forward with their best ideas for how we should adjust our financial frameworks to best incentivise the use of safe and evidence-based AI and machine learning technologies across the NHS.’
The NHS did not reveal how much it would pay hospitals or what types of upgrades would be eligible for the compensation.
Interpreting mammogram breast cancer scans was identified as a potential target.
According to the Royal College of Radiologist, each breast screen – there are two million done each year in the UK – is reviewed by two human staff.
However, at least one of those steps could be replaced by an AI learning computer, NHS England suggested, because the tech has ‘already demonstrated its potential to ease the burden on staff and free them up for other work’.
The NHS also wants to be the first health system to have a digital appointments system through which patients use video and internet to talk to their doctors.
However, a scheme being trialled in GP practices in Edinburgh found patients still faced lengthy delays even for online appointments, The Times reported.
A study reported patients endured ‘long waiting times’ and technology problems in the virtual waiting room.
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