A rapidly evolving digital infrastructure offers great potential for population health in the UK, but a “learning health system” needs to be expanded upon to take full advantage of its opportunities
Professor Iain Buchan, associate pro vice chancellor for innovation at the University of Liverpool, emphasized the importance of understanding the social determinants of health for a comprehensive understanding of disease causes during the session on the Integrated Care Stage at Digital Health Rewired24.
He highlighted the need to continuously improve coordination of care for individuals and systems to cater to future healthcare needs effectively.
The challenge ahead lies in harnessing fine-grained data from diverse organizations like social care, local authorities, charities, and law enforcement to support the healthcare journey.
Professor Buchan discussed the transformation of population health over the years and projected the requirements for 2030, including the use of civic health system data and causal machine learning for multi-outcome prediction.
Covid as a learning example
Covid-19 demonstrated the power of real-time data in public health decision-making, leading to successful outcomes in regions like Cheshire & Merseyside.
The concept of digital twins in healthcare and the utilization of health avatars were highlighted as tools for predicting clinical outcomes and behavior interactions.
Lorraine Foley discussed the importance of data standards in achieving a unified and effective health system empowered by technology.
Tim Horton emphasized the vast potential of health care data in guiding resource allocation, treatment decisions, and quality improvement initiatives.
Creating a well-functioning learning community is crucial for driving meaningful change in the healthcare landscape, requiring trust, a learning culture, and effective mechanisms for collaboration.
