The use of technology and artificial intelligence-enabled digital tools for the diagnosis and management of health conditions will be expanded to include cardiology and respiratory services, as well as maximising successes already seen in teledermatology, the Government has announced.
Part of its new NHS 10-year plan, this forms part of its ambition to ‘end outpatient care as we know it’ by significantly redesigning outpatient services and avoiding patients having long waits for ‘low-complexity’ appointments, amid a shift from hospital to community care.
Teledermatology hubs, which triage suspected skin cancer in community-based photo clinics and discharge benign cases without need to see a specialist, will become standard practice by 2028/29 subject to approval from NICE.
Similar approaches making greater use of technology will be actively expanded to other areas – where clinically appropriate – with cardiology, respiratory, ophthalmology and mental health prioritised for redesign, the plan said.
In mental health, for example, this could mean virtual therapists providing round the clock support for mild or moderate need. For those with more severe illness, remote monitoring using digital tools to ‘support a proactive response in crisis’ could be utilised, the Government explained.
Commenting on this technological focus, Dr Tamara Griffiths, president of the British Association of Dermatologists, said: ‘The 10-year plan touches on many areas relevant to dermatology, from prevention to community-based care. However, one area of particular focus is digital innovation, where dermatology is seen as especially well-positioned to capitalise on technologies like teledermatology and AI diagnostics.’
But she warned that ‘this potential will only be realised with the right regulation, digital infrastructure and clinical safeguards in place. Without these, such tools risk falling short of expectations’.
Reducing elective waiting lists through technology
The Government’s plan is for most outpatient care to happen outside of hospitals by 2035 through neighbourhood health centres, which will bring ‘historically hospital-based services into the community’ including diagnostics, post-operative care and rehabilitation.
The elective waiting list is currently 7.4 million, up from 2.3 million in 2010, with just 60% of people seen within 18-weeks. Yet there are many changes that can be made that will ‘benefit patients, free up clinical capacity and boost productivity’, the plan said.
Patient-initiated follow-up – where patients obtain an appointment when they need it – for example if symptoms change, rather than by default – will become the standard ‘for all clinically appropriate pathways’ by next year, the 10-year plan said.
Over time patients will be able to use the NHS App to request follow-up or update their clinicians on their condition to get ‘faster, more accurate decisions’ through a virtual service.
As part of this, the advice and guidance activities provided by consultant-led services for GPs will be embedded into many more specialities over the next decade, according to the plan, after seeing a significant reduction in the need for hospital appointments in its current arrangement.
Indeed, in 2024/25, GPs requesting advice from a consultant through NHS e-referral helped to divert 1.3 million referrals from hospitals, with the approach ‘particularly effective’ in ‘high-volume’ specialties.
‘Technology will enable us to embed it in many more specialties through the next 10 years,’ the 10-year plan said, aiming to build on this success.
‘Digital tools will help people manage their care from the convenience of their home, with support from clinicians when needed,’ the 10-year plan said. ‘Personalised support, informed by advances in individual data, will help people get ready for planned treatment, and receive effective rehabilitation in the community afterwards.’
