Cancer has a higher successful treatment rate the earlier it’s diagnosed. The later the diagnosis, the greater the risk of death or long-term debilitating effects.

In her speech, Mrs May will say:

“Late diagnosis of otherwise treatable illnesses is one of the biggest causes of avoidable deaths.

The development of smart technologies to analyse great quantities of data quickly, and with a higher degree of accuracy than is possible by human beings, opens up a whole new field of medical research and gives us a new weapon in our armoury in the fight against disease.

Achieving this mission will not only save thousands of lives, it will incubate a whole new industry around AI-in-healthcare. It will create high-skilled science jobs across the country – drawing on existing centres of excellence in places like Edinburgh, Oxford, and Leeds – and help to grow new ones.”

At least 50,000 people a year suffering from lung, prostate, ovarian, or bowel cancer will be diagnosed earlier due to AI, May will claim.

To achieve this goal, researchers will require access to large amounts of medical records to cross-reference patients’ lifestyles, genetics, and prior conditions to highlight when individuals are most at risk.

The UK’s National Health Service (NHS) has vast amounts of data. Every time a patient visits a service anywhere in the country, a record is made.

A patient’s medical record can include:

• • treatments received or ongoing

• • information about allergies

• • current medication(s)

• • any reactions to medications in the past

• • any known long-term conditions, such as diabetes or asthma

• • medical test results such as blood tests, allergy tests, and other screenings

• • any clinically relevant lifestyle information, such as smoking, alcohol or weight

• • personal data, such as age, name, and address

• • consultation notes, which a doctor takes during an appointment

• • hospital admission records, including the reason

• • hospital discharge records, which will include the results of treatment and whether any follow-up appointments or care are required

• • X-rays

• photographs and image slides, such as MRI scans or CT scans

How this data is shared and used to improve medical care remains a controversial topic. For example, the NHS’ sharing of data with Google-owned DeepMind has often come under scrutiny.

An independent panel last year found the deal between DeepMind and the Royal Free NHS Foundation Trust to develop an app for diagnosing kidney disease was ‘illegal’ and did not do enough to safeguard patient data.

Theresa May’s party, the Conservatives, have also faced widespread criticism over under-funding and privatisation of the NHS — leading to increased staff pressure and longer waiting times for patients.

Two-thirds of NHS trusts reported having at least one cancer patient waiting more than six months last year, while almost seven in 10 (69%) trusts said they had a worse longest wait than in 2010. One cancer patient waited 541 days for treatment.

If employed correctly, the automation offered by AI has the potential to greatly reduce staff pressure and improve patient care.

“Earlier detection and diagnosis could fundamentally transform outcomes for people with cancer, as well as saving the NHS money,” comments Sir Harpal Kumar, CEO of Cancer Research. “Advances in detection technologies depend on the intelligent use of data and have the potential to save hundreds of thousands of lives every year.”

“We need to ensure we have the right infrastructure, embedded in our health system, to make this possible.”

What are your thoughts on the use of AI in healthcare?

The post Theresa May: AI is a ‘new weapon’ against cancer appeared first on AI News.

GP at Hand aims to reduce the burden on GPs while also cutting the waiting time it takes for a patient to see a doctor from the current average of two weeks, to just a matter of minutes.

Dr Howard Freeman MBE, senior GP said: “GP at Hand is a window into what the NHS of the future will look like. When innovative NHS GPs embrace babylon technology to make life better for their patients, the sky is the limit.”

A patient gets started by moving their medical records over to the digital-first service just as they would moving practice. Patients can determine using an AI in the app if their symptoms require further attention. If required, the app puts the patient in a video chat with a GP as soon as one is available. Any prescriptions can be sent automatically to a pharmacy of the patient’s choice.  If deemed necessary, the patient can be booked in to be examined at a practice.

There are multiple benefits to this approach:

Accessibility. People with limited mobility, for example, may have other ailments which don’t require visiting a practice — but doing so today can be difficult.

Convenience. Growing waiting times means it can take weeks to get a normal appointment, and then journeying to — and sitting around in a practice waiting for your turn while feeling unwell  — is not ideal.

Rather than wake up early to beg a poor receptionist dealing with multiple other calls for an appointment, the ability to request one from your mobile device and get on with your day until the GP is ready would be preferable to many patients.

Further down the line, more GPs could even work digitally from home while taking shifts on who staffs the now less burdened practices.

Hygiene. While steps are taken to improve hygiene, anywhere there’s a lot of people sick carries risk. Doctors can end up unwell themselves and patients in the waiting room could end up leaving with illnesses they didn’t come in with.

Need. By employing AI, the many patients who unnecessarily take up precious GP time can be filtered out while ensuring GPs are available to people who need them.

Record. Speaking from experience, some of us can be forgetful. GP at Hand allows patients to privately go back over recordings of their calls with GPs if they forget any crucial advice to remind them.

Privacy. Patients can speak to a doctor from the privacy of their own home which may comfort some concerned they may run into a friend or neighbour at their local practice.

Currently, the service is only available in London, but there are plans to roll it out nationwide. When patients do need to see a GP in person, clinics are located at convenient locations for commuters and workers including Canary Wharf, Victoria, Liverpool Street, and Euston.

Patients appear to be happy with the service, based on its trial in Fulham. 90 percent gave it a 5-star rating, and 96 percent when also including 4-star ratings. This is much higher satisfaction than with current overburdened practices.

“I know just how difficult times are for GPs these days and how busy they are. GP at Hand, in addition to being very convenient for patients, can help the service given the recruitment crisis we know is facing us,” comments Dame Barbara Hakin, formerly a GP and National Director in NHS England. “This technology can take more of the strain and ensure the best information and insight is available ahead of consultations which will then relieve some of the pressure on hard pressed clinicians.”

In just a few weeks, 3,000 people have become members of the new service, with over 10,000 more registering their interest to join as the service rolls out.

Are you glad to see AI being used to modernise healthcare?

The post GP at Hand: AI enables the world’s first 24/7 free healthcare service appeared first on AI News.