AI (Artificial Intelligence) is having a dramatic impact on all aspects of society, and not least in healthcare.
The NHS stipulates that one of its three priority areas going forward is to transform the health and care systems for the future, with a move towards digital. Its aim is to put digital tools in place so patients can be supported with high-quality information that equips them to take greater control over their health and care.
Within Optegra we have embraced the opportunities around this technology by investing in AI, to provide pre- and post-op checks for our NHS cataract patients.
“Iris” our AI virtual assistant, has already supported thousands of patients – at a time to suit them – to check their eye health ahead of their pre-op diagnostic tests, as well as review them following cataract surgery.
Iris has truly transformed the way we can deliver our pre-assessment and post-op assessment appointments, allowing our teams to spend more time with those patients who need additional support for any reason.
Chief Medical Officer for Optegra
At Optegra, we’re excited about the power of AI in healthcare. From helping patients book appointments at their convenience (even at night or early on weekends) to providing secure, personalized support with our healthcare professionals if needed, Iris is enhancing the patient experience and freeing up time for our clinical teams to focus more on patient care. Less admin, more time interacting with and caring for patients. As Chief Medical Officer, I believe this is the future of healthcare, and there is so much potential. I am excited to see the opportunities ahead.
The vast majority – around 80 per cent – of our NHS cataract patients are ‘routine’ cases, which means Iris is fully able to triage, to handle their assessments and capture patient feedback.
If any issues or concerns are raised, a colleague from our customer service team will phone the patient to chat it through and arrange a follow-up appointment if required.
As well as allowing us to focus the team on more complex cases, Iris helps provide a quicker and more convenient treatment journey for the patient who can automatically book this service, with more flexibility.
In busy times, or during holiday periods pre-assessments have sometimes been delayed for 5-7 days, but Iris is able to process and manage a near infinite number of calls ensuring a consistent service for every patient.
The advantages of Optegra using AI in this way are:
- Patient choice and flexibility – patients can choose their appointments at any time of day or night to suit themselves
- Faster, seamless pre-op assessments
- Convenience of follow-up from home, rather than another trip to hospital
- Clinical team members at Optegra are spending less time on admin and more time on patients
- Supporting our commitment to patient safety with follow-up calls as needed
Optegra Medical Director
In today’s fast-paced healthcare environment, time is one of our most precious resources. That’s why our latest innovations at Optegra are so exciting – we are seeing at first hand how AI can transform the way clinical teams work – by saving valuable time and enabling them to focus on what matters most: patient care.
Did you know?:
- The NHS conducts around six-million-day case surgeries annually, which means approx. five million pre-operative assessments.
- If 50 per cent of these assessments were managed by AI, it would free up around 2.5 million hours, equivalent to the workload of nearly 1,500 nurses.
