Apologies for the radio silence but I really have been incredibly busy recently, mostly writing about Artificial Intelligence, Big Data and the Internet of Things.

Here’s a piece that was published in a Sunday Telegraph supplement yesterday (November 25th, 2018) about how the NHS can use AI technology to save money and improve its service – especially important given the increased pressure it is under from us all living longer.

According to Frost & Sullivan’s Social Innovation in Healthcare report, the number of people aged 65 or older worldwide is projected to grow from an estimated 524 million in 2010 to nearly 1.5 billion in 2050. And during this period, total health and long term care costs are set to double to nearly 13pc of GDP among OECD countries.

Although not without its problems – as a recent investigation by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) into the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust sending data to Google’s DeepMind showed – technology can help bridge this funding gap by making health services run more efficiently, diagnosing illnesses more quickly, even providing care for the elderly. 

According to a recent report by former health minister Lord Darzi, the NHS could save £12.5bn a year by fully automating repetitive and administrative tasks, such as communicating medical notes, booking appointments and processing prescriptions.

In September, the UK Government also announced £17million of funding for projects that it claims could revolutionise healthcare. These included a program combining AI and GPS tracking to match the availability of beds and porters in hospitals  as well as a 3D printing technology for tablets and smartphone apps to monitor and improve the treatment of long-term complex wounds.