How technology companies can help the NHS

Collaborating with technology giants like Samsung can offer our National Health Service (NHS) various avenues to improve its service quality, efficiency and longevity. NHS Digital has already started working collaboratively with technology suppliers “to enhance patient lives and improve health and care outcomes”. In this article, we review how Samsung has started to collaborate with healthcare providers in America and how the NHS could emulate this.

Samsung has initiated a partnership with the MIT Media Lab, Brigham & Women's Hospital (Harvard teaching hospital), Tulane University School of Medicine, and Samsung Medical Center. This fresh research endeavour aims to improve the digital health domain and discover innovative wellness strategies.

Here are some potential collaboration strategies and benefits which are already being explored on a small scale which could benefit the NHS:

1. Digital Health Platforms: Samsung has significant expertise in developing digital health platforms and wearable technologies like Galaxy watches which can provide valuable biometric data on patient health. The NHS can leverage these to improve remote patient monitoring, early detection of diseases, and patient engagement.

2. Telemedicine: Samsung's vast expertise in mobile and communication technologies could help the NHS expand its telemedicine services. High-quality video calls, real-time data sharing, and other remote care technologies can help bridge the gap for patients in remote areas or those unable to visit hospitals, relieving the strain on hospitals.

3. Integration of Health Records: Samsung can help design secure and efficient electronic health record (EHR) systems that can be integrated across NHS trusts. Seamless EHR systems can reduce administrative burdens and improve patient care by offering a comprehensive view of patient histories.

4. Smart Hospitals: Leveraging IoT (Internet of Things) and AI expertise can transform hospitals into smart institutions. This can lead to efficient bed management, real-time asset tracking, energy savings, and predictive maintenance of equipment. This integration of new technologies could help the NHS operate more efficiently.

5. Training and Education: Samsung's virtual and augmented reality solutions can be employed to create immersive training environments for medical staff, enhancing their skills and improving patient outcomes. NHS teaching hospitals could utilise this new technology to change the way future healthcare professionals are trained.

6. Mobile Health Applications: Collaborating on mobile health apps can allow patients to schedule appointments, access health information, and communicate with healthcare providers easily. Companies like Samsung have market-leading developers who can roll out improvements in app usability and help the entire UK population access information and certain services easily.

7. Research and Development: Joint R&D initiatives can focus on developing cutting-edge medical devices, personalised medicine tools, and AI-driven diagnostic tools.

8. Cybersecurity: As healthcare systems become increasingly digitised, they become potential targets for cyber-attacks, particularly due to the immense volume of sensitive patient information stored online. Samsung's expertise in cybersecurity can help the NHS protect patient data and ensure the security of its digital infrastructure.

9. Supply Chain Management: Leveraging Samsung's advanced analytics and AI, the NHS can improve its supply chain efficiencies, ensuring that vital medical equipment and medicines are always available.

10. Sustainability: Samsung's expertise in sustainable technologies can help the NHS reduce its carbon footprint by developing green hospitals and incorporating renewable energy solutions.

Seung Woo Park, President and CEO of Samsung Medical Center said, “Leveraging both Samsung’s comprehensive services and wide operational capacity and Samsung Medical Center’s expertise and clinical research facilities, the partnership aims to develop an algorithm and build a platform to better monitor and give insights on users’ heart health, sleep, mental health and more.”

It is essential to conduct pilot programs before implementing new technologies or solutions

on a large scale. This will help evaluate their effectiveness and appropriateness. An excellent example of collaboration in the NHS is the partnership between Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, Google Health UK and British tech firm DeepMind. Together, they aim to use digital technology to improve patient care through the development and adoption of innovative app, Streams.

Final thoughts

To make the collaboration successful, it's essential for the NHS and companies like Samsung to maintain an open line of communication, understanding each other's goals, capabilities, and constraints. Any technological solution must comply with medical regulations and standards to ensure patient safety and data protection.

In conclusion, a strategic collaboration between the NHS and technology companies like Samsung can drive significant improvements in healthcare service delivery and outcomes, benefiting both patients and healthcare professionals.