Would you trust a machine to diagnose your skin cancer? Or, maybe, to reassure you that a mole is “ok”? We take a dive into the world of machine learning, which is a branch of artificial intelligence based on the idea that systems can learn from data, identify patterns and make decisions with minimal human intervention. The most promising advances in medical image analysis have used a type of algorithm known as a deep neural network. But what happens if the images aren’t of good enough quality?
We discuss both the great potential and also some of the current limitations of work in this area being done on both sides of the Atlantic, with Dr Colin Morton, who is a consultant dermatologist in NHS Forth Valley and is clinical operational lead for a skin cancer AI consortium in Scotland, Professor Mark Davis and Dr Dennis Murphree, the Director of Digital Health and Artificial Intelligence in Dermatology at the Mayo clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA.
Artificial Intelligence to help diagnose skin cancers: NHS Tayside project
Embracing the transformative power of digital pathology: Mayo Clinic
Can we open the black box of AI?
Deep learning for dermatologists Part 1 Part 2
The Scottish Digital Prescribing and Dispensing Programme, is being led by Ewan Morrison, Director of Pharmacy, NSS and Dr Sam Patel, consultant physician in Respiratory and General Medicine NHS Lanarkshire, and eHealth Clinical Lead for NES Digital Services. This programme is a major national collaboration between NHS Education for Scotland and NHS National Services Scotland, and aims to revolutionize the way we prescribe and dispense medications in Scotland, which is currently a paper-based process with some electronic elements, involving medical and non-medical prescribers, patients and pharmacists, generating around 5 million items a month.
In one of our previous episodes, we discussed the outputs of a series of NSS workshops held in 2019 looking at processes around prescribing. The findings acknowledged that ePrescribing is one of the key requirements to improve prescribing and dispensing processes. In this episode, Ewan and Sam discuss the outcome of phase 1 of this programme, which aims to find a technical and organisational electronic solution to meet the needs of NHS Scotland in the future, and has produced a paper prototype to inform this.
“Once we have removed the paper prescription, and replaced the wet signature, from in-hours GP prescribing, to community pharmacy, and the process works for everyone in that chain, including the patients, the citizen, that’s when we’ll be cracking open the Champagne”.
They will also be leading a plenary session at our November conference and you can hear more about the programme and ask them your own questions by registering below.
The SNUG Virtual Conference November 2021 agenda and booking details
NHS Digital EPS prescribing System Specification (specification for EPS in NHS England)
The way we deliver health care has been radically changed by the Covid 19 pandemic. In an almost Darwinian way, general practices have evolved their systems to try and meet the various challenges, much of it driven by technology and the ability to communicate and provide services by telephone or online. Many practices now have what’s been called a digital front door. The question is, how widely to we want to open up that front door? Practices across the UK have had to make new use of online services and are wondering rather uncertainly what the future implications of this will be. Is there a limit to the demands for health care?
At the May SNUG Members’ day, many of the new digital developments were discussed. Matt Hoghton (@mhoghton) is a GP and Clinical Advisor to Digital Primary Care NHSX in England. He described how services have developed in England in the last 18 months and described experiences with greater use of Digital Asynchronous Consulting Systems, apps and practice websites to allow patients to access and use services in a new way, the need for remote working, e-Prescribing and how the organisation of health care has had to shift to meet the changed circumstances. There are many parallels with our experiences in Scotland, and also several lessons we can learn.
Andrew Cowie(@DrAndrewCowie) is a GP in Dundee and the deputy chair of the Scottish GP’s Committee of the BMA (SGPC). He led a discussion session looking at the SGPC’s approach to provision of digital services by GP practices in Scotland.
The full videos for these sessions and many more are available for members at the SNUG Website. Are you enthusiastic or apprehensive about the move towards opening the digital front door to your practice? Do let us know. alex.defranco@phs.scot
SGPC information: https://www.bma.org.uk/what-we-do/committees/general-practitioners-committee/scottish-general-practitioners-committee
Rammya Mathew BMJ: https://www.bmj.com/content/373/bmj.n1246
Future NHS Collaboration platform: https://future.nhs.uk/
NHS Inform tools and apps: https://www.nhsinform.scot/care-support-and-rights/tools-and-apps
