Lancaster University’s Postgraduate symposium is here for another year. I am honoured to have the opportunity to display my research.

If you are at the symposium now and are unsure about the symbol in the top right of my poster. It is a Zappar link, you scan it with the Zappar App, which you can download here

If you have reached this post from attending the symposium, I hope you had a fantastic day and enjoyed my poster. Please contact me if you need more information or have a collaborative idea in mind.

Background

There is a crisis in General Practice with with increasing volumes of data, patients and complexity of care. General Practitioner (GP) numbers are decreasing, citing a workload which is unmanageable. We have a perfect storm for an unsafe healthcare system, staff burnout and unhappy patients. Public satisfaction with General Practice is currently 63%, its lowest level in over 35 years.

Urgent actions are required to reverse this crisis. The cracks are beginning to show, with an estimated 47 million potentially clinically significant errors occurring in Primary Care each year, the majority related to prescribing. Adverse events are estimated to be between three million and 24.5 million.

A solution?

With a real-world, problem-focused approach, clinician-engagement from the outset and controlled clinical testing, the next generation of personal assistant could help to avert the current crisis. Reducing cognitive burden and reducing clinical risk are the first two areas of focus and measurement. Using a mixed-methods approach, the development of the assistant will be shaped by its clinical efficacy.

Current outcomes

There is interest and support in the development of the system from both GPs and from industry. Collaborations with different technology companies have provided solid foundations for rapid prototyping and development. Support from GPs will ensure usability and performance.

References

1. Patient satisfaction in GPs drops to record low levels as “intense pressures” show. Pulse Today
2. Improving safety in primary care. The Health Foundation
3. Free background music from https://www.fesliyanstudios.com