heal thyself

But were there ever any
    Writhed not at passed joy?
To know the change and feel it,
When there is none to heal it

Last night we heard from NHS East, Philips and Patients Know Best about the future for treatment of long-term conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure etc. People with long-term conditions account for around three quarters of inpatient bed days and ~70% of NHS spend, and smarter ways to help us all to help ourselves are needed as budgets are either frozen or cut back. There are four-fold to ten-fold variations between UK regions in the proportion of the population having operations like knee replacements or hysterectomies, and disatisfaction with the outcomes is often high, so perhaps if we are informed consistently of the risks and timescales less will choose the operation. Such wide variation suggests that the system of referral from primary to secondary care may require more effective pathways to treat conditions like sleep problems which have knock-on impact. We can make better lifestyle choices and catch errors earlier as patients and their carers get better informed by social media connecting them to peers suffering the same issues, and start to maintain their own health records.

The discussion carried on among an audience including multinational labs like Microsoft Research and Nokia Research; native companies like 42 Technology, Biochrom, Cambridge Cognition, Hidalgo, PA, Plextek, Sagentia, Swiss Precision Diagnostics, Team Consulting; academics from Anglia Ruskin and Cambridge; and a visiting delegation of Estonian healthcare companies. The flicker of small screens showing accelerometer readings illustrated how local skills in low-power electronics are already being drawn into these challenges, but as one medic-turned-designer pointed out, the speakers were so insightful because they had clinical backgrounds too. Cambridge ideas from biomedical, engineering and information and communication technologies are all needed to change the world of long-term conditions.

Comments

[Barclay Burns]

Long-term, cronic conditions are a similar problem in the US.