While access to digital health went ahead in leaps and bounds during COVID, there are still many opportunities to use technology to make access to health easier access.
Founder of telehealth platform Lysn, Jonathan King, says improvements need to be made so systems and software work cohesively.King says as a start, improvements need to be made so systems and software work cohesively, through the process of interoperability. He says centralised systems and better clinician training is needed so healthcare workers can make the most of technology. There also needs to be better use of data to improve how patients are treated.
“Regulators are collaborating more with practitioners, for example, the Digital Mental Health Services Project by The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare which saw the engagement of professionals to help improve clinical safety in digital mental health products,” says King. ”Also at present, the healthcare workforce is exhausted and burnt out and are not able to adapt to new initiatives. I was talking to a project manager who resigned from their role at a healthcare organisation in the middle of COVID because they felt they couldn’t or shouldn’t ask medical staff to adopt yet another digitalisation initiative in the middle of a crisis.”
“Patients are already on board with this and say they want more choice and control over their health, with easy-to-use technology.”