Achieving Seamless Healthcare: An Insider's Perspective with Michael Watts

ZA: Can you tell me more about your role at University Hospitals Derby and Burton, and your professional career background??

MW: I am currently working as the Associate Chief Clinical Informatics Officer at University Hospitals Derby and Burton, where I am responsible for supporting the IT and digital services implement?and sustain digital solutions across the organisation. My professional career background includes more than 10 years of experience in the healthcare and business industries, starting my studies as a biomedical scientist,?before moving onto graduating Medical School,?and then completing an MBA.?

ZA: What do you think makes a good CIO??

MW: Becoming an associate CCIO enabled me to apply my passion for technology, but it also required me to be highly organised and have strong problem-solving and analytical skills, something that I felt complimented my time as a medical doctor. It was also a way for me to influence change at a trust-wide level, by harnessing communication and leadership skills to?be able to foster an environment of collaboration and innovation between the healthcare workforce and digital teams.?

ZA: Tell us about Blum Healthcare, how did this come about and what’s the latest activities/projects you are introducing or running in Blum Healthcare?

MW: Blüm Health is an industry leading digital health software development company founded by Clinicians and Software Engineers to break down the barriers of healthcare innovation. Our focus is on building NHS-Ready Software, but we also enjoy providing companies of all sizes with digital health consultancy (regulatory, design and development best practices) to help overcome some of the hurdles to innovation and to support teams to prove?concept. Through our best practice approach and flexible collaborations we have managed to achieve a portfolio of patient-centric software solutions with both public and private organisations and are now introducing Blüm Connect??into the industry, which contains a series of pre-built software features, enabling clinical entrepreneurs to build their innovations faster, and more affordably.?

ZA: What’s one piece of advice you would like to give to someone aspiring to take up a career journey and reach a position similar to yours within healthcare??

MW: My advice to someone aspiring to reach a position similar to mine is to stay up to date on the latest trends and technologies in healthcare, as well as to gain experience in different areas of healthcare IT. Exploring Clinical Entrepreneurialism is not something to be taken lightly, and if you are considering moving your career to focus more on industry, it is first important that you understand why you want to do that. For me, it was about influencing change on a wider scale. Building an innovative business can be time consuming and stressful, and therefore should not be seen as a substitute for clinical practice. The best thing you can do is build a supportive network of mentors and like-minded individuals who will support your decision making (both generally, and for your innovation).

ZA: With an increase in conversation related to Net Zero within healthcare and a large proportion of the public in support of it, what is your outlook on the topic of sustainability within healthcare in order to improve patient outcomes?

MW: My outlook on sustainability within healthcare is very positive. In order for us to improve patient outcomes, we must look to reduce the environmental impact of healthcare, both from a resource and energy perspective. The NHS has already taken some big steps towards achieving net zero by investing in renewable energy sources, and reducing the carbon footprint from its operations. As we face a growing population, and staffing issues, we must think of more innovative ways to continue to provide the level of care our patients expect. This is where medical technology plays an important part, and by digitalising or automating processes within healthcare, we can also see a contribution towards a more net zero NHS.?

ZA: Can you briefly talk us through the IT infrastructure within the NHS and what steps you have seen them working on to achieve seamless, end-user technology?

MW: The IT infrastructure within the NHS is highly, highly complex and has been for some time. It is a combination of on-site and cloud-based systems, varying from one site to another. Historically, patient?data has remained at the location of treatment (for example, paper medical records) and there is a big?emphasis on more joined up care, which means better (appropriate) access to medical?records,?and improved interoperability between digital systems. The NHS has been working on improving the end-user experience of its technology, introducing new technologies such as telehealth and artificial intelligence to improve patient outcomes and deliver a more?personalised experience. There is still much more to be done in creating a more fluid IT infrastructure for the NHS, but we have made significant ground over the last several years.?

ZA: Are there any challenges you have faced in your current healthcare roles, if so explain one that springs to mind?

MW: One of the challenges that I (and many of my clinical peers) have faced in my current healthcare roles is the amount of time spent on administrative tasks. With increasing demand on clinical services, we need to consider ways to make our day-to-day clinical activities more efficient. This is where intelligent automation plays a role, and can take away some of the administrative burdens such as documentation and patient flow, which in turn should improve patient experiences and outcomes.?

ZA: Finally, what sort of new technology do you think might be introduced for the NHS and its patients within the next 3-5 years?

MW: Within the next 3-5 years, I believe that the NHS will continue to move forward with the implementation of telemedicine and intelligent?automation of some of its more manual processes. Telemedicine can improve access to care, particularly in remote areas, and can reduce the cost of care by allowing patients to receive care remotely. I believe we can expect to see more remote monitoring such as wearable sensors and we can expect that these will become more widely adopted. These technologies can help to improve patient outcomes by providing continuous monitoring and feedback, as well as allowing for more frequent communication between patients and healthcare providers. Finally, I think that artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies will be increasingly used to improve diagnoses and treatments, and support staff that may have less time to fulfill their duties. These technologies should help to reduce the workload of healthcare providers and help improve the accuracy of diagnoses over time. It is always important to consider safety within medical technologies, and thus any new solutions introduced should be done once the relevant quality assurances have taken place.