Robots, artificial intelligence and smart speakers will ease the burden on doctors and give them more time with patients, according to an NHS report on the pending technological “revolution” in healthcare.
Developments in the ability to sequence individuals’ genomes – the entirety of their genetic data – will also spur on advances, according to the review published on Monday.
The report, led by a US academic, Eric Topol, calls for fresh education for staff, with 90% of all NHS jobs predicted to require digital skills within 20 years.
But those who fear robots could edge out human practitioners may be reassured by the review’s suggestion that technology will “enhance” professionals, giving them greater time for patients.
Smart speakers such as Siri and Alexa are envisioned as having a major impact on care. Though uptake of the fledgling technology has been slow so far, with fears of errors, advances will make it a “valuable tool” for updating patients’ records, allowing doctors to focus on patients and not paperwork.
Evidence suggests the technology could save 5.7m hours of GPs’ time across England annually, the report says. Smart speakers can also be used with a “mental health triage bot” that engages in conversations while analysing text and voice for suicidal ideas and emotion.
Virtual reality could be used in reducing pain and distress for wounded patients and treating anxiety, phobias and post-traumatic stress disorder. Artificial intelligence (AI) could save time in interpreting scans such as mammograms, eye scans and pathology slides, and also improve the accuracy of diagnoses.
The assistance of robots in surgery could be expanded, and robots could also automate repetitive tasks such as dispensing pharmaceuticals. Using phones or Skype for diagnoses and treatment has the potential for significant savings, the report says.
The NHS genomic medicine service has the ambition to sequence up to 5 million genomes over the next five years. The report says this will extend the benefits beyond people with cancers and rare diseases to all patients, particularly in the prevention and management of late-onset conditions such as dementia.
Gene editing techniques also hold the potential to cure once untreatable rare diseases and deliver targeted therapy.
A key hurdle for the NHS to overcome is training all staff to be digitally literate and competent discussing the field of genomics, the review says.
The authors conclude: “Our review of the evidence leads us to suggest that these technologies will not replace healthcare professionals, but will enhance them … giving them more time to care for patients.”
There are also warnings in the report. It says the gathering of data, particularly genomic information, could be considered intrusive. AI’s ability to mimic human behaviours could be seen as “manipulative or deceptive”, so patients must always be made aware if they are communicating with man or machine, it says.
And while innovation has the ability to redress inequalities, there is also the potential to exacerbate them, with evidence that digital health records have lower uptake among poorer people and ethnic minorities.
Topol said the “revolution” had the potential to “greatly strengthen patient-doctor relationships” and “reduce the burnout we can see in a significant proportion of clinicians today”.
The health secretary, Matt Hancock, said: “Our health service is on the cusp of a technology revolution and our brilliant staff will be in the driving seat when it happens.
“Technology must be there to enhance and support clinicians. It has the potential to make working lives easier for dedicated NHS staff and free them up to use their medical expertise and do what they do best: care for patients.”