“Elective recovery is still a massive challenge and no one has a good answer right now. Digital has a big part to play in finding that answer.”

This year’s HETT Show provided an unforgettable opportunity to discuss some of the most pressing challenges for our NHS with a host of inspiring healthcare leaders, researchers and innovators. Throughout, I was left struck by one prevailing thought: elective recovery remains a huge challenge and, while no-one has the perfect answer right now, digital innovation undoubtedly has a pivotal role to play.

As I’ve reflected over the past few days, I’ve begun to think about what the route towards this answer might look like. Here, I’ve shared my thoughts on some of the biggest challenges currently facing elective recovery and how digital health can help us work towards solving them.

Increasing capacity to address rising waiting lists

As the number of patients on waiting lists for elective care continues to reach new records, clinicians are working tirelessly to meet the sharp rise in demand.

One fundamental way in which technology can help assuage this pressure is by reducing the admin burden faced by clinicians. Automating processes such as patient referrals via e-RS, replacing paper-based or email chain communications with more streamlined digital platforms, and minimising the need for manual data entry, will give clinicians back more time to spend on patient care.

Likewise, through swifter access to specialist advice and guidance using platforms like Cinapsis, we can significantly reduce the number of unnecessary referrals being made to specialist care. This will not only help reduce the length of waiting lists, but will enable clinicians to direct patients to the most appropriate source of care sooner.

Enabling greater collaboration across primary and secondary care

Supporting primary and secondary care services to collaborate more easily is the key to unlocking more effective patient triage and reducing pressure on individual services. However, analogue and outdated tech systems currently present communication silos which prevent collaboration from happening at the necessary scale.

More integrated and interoperable technology, which enables data and information to be automatically shared between different services and organisations, is needed. By providing clinicians with integrated systems which can ‘speak’ to one another, we can support them to communicate and collaborate more effectively. Plus, simpler secure data sharing will help provide clinicians with a more holistic view of individual patients’ care.

Boosting staff retention to support recovery

While waiting lists for elective care rise, so too do the number of NHS staff burning out and leaving their roles, with more than one-fifth (22.9%) considering leaving in the next year. Technology that helps reduce the pressures faced by clinicians is of course an important step to addressing this. However, the last thing clinicians need or want is to be grappling with a complicated new system on top of their already busy workload.

To ensure that technology is helping, and not hindering, it must be intuitively designed, with clinicians’ nuanced needs and workloads in mind. Onboarding should be quick, simple and effective, and providers should ensure that ongoing support is offered to make adoption as smooth as possible. New tools should integrate seamlessly with both clinicians’ daily workflows and the systems already at their disposal.

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While it’s clear there’s still a long way to go on the road to elective recovery, HETT 2022 has left me convinced that digital innovation is a key component. Introducing new innovations with a collaborative approach that prioritises interoperability, patient and clinician experience can ensure the full power of technology will improve the health and wellbeing of millions of citizens.

Want to find out more about how Cinapsis can support your organisation with elective recovery? Connect with a member of our team: info@cinapsis.org