Enhancing patient safety through digital innovation – Keynote by William Monaghan

Summary

During the 2024 Patient Safety Conference, William Monaghan, Group Chief Digital Information Officer at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, delivered a thought-provoking keynote lecture on enhancing patient safety through digital innovation.

He discussed the challenges of digital transformation in healthcare, highlighting the gap between the potential of digital technology and the tangible results we’ve yet to achieve. William emphasised how inefficient systems hinder clinicians' work and stressed the importance of designing user-centric technology that truly supports clinical decision-making, reducing administrative hashtag#burdens. He also shared powerful insights into how AI and automation can improve patient safety while ensuring that clinicians remain at the heart of decision-making.

Content

Key takeaways:

• Clinicians must lead digital transformation: It’s essential to involve healthcare professionals in every stage of the design, testing, and implementation of digital systems. By prioritising clinicians’ needs and insights, technology can be shaped to serve the real challenges they face.
• Automation and AI should reduce clinician workload: AI and automation have great potential to alleviate administrative burdens, freeing up healthcare professionals to focus more on patient care. Using AI to streamline documentation, such as generating discharge summaries, helps optimize clinician time while maintaining accuracy.
• Data must be democratised and used to improve patient care: Access to real-time, actionable data is crucial for improving patient safety. Clinicians need the tools and skills to use data effectively, not just for reporting, but for actively guiding clinical decisions, identifying patterns, and preventing adverse outcomes.