Healthcare is going digital… but what about dentistry?

In September 2017 at the NHS Health and Care innovation Expo the Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP, Secretary of State for Health set bold challenges for the NHS to be realised by the end of 2018:

• Fully functional online or app-based version of 111 for use by patients

• Enable people to access their full medical record through an app

• Make it possible for patients to manage their GP appointments online

• Repeat prescriptions online

• Data-sharing, organ donation and end of life preferences online

• Universal WiFi availability across NHS estates

All of these are aimed at improving patient safety and convenience which are goals that we, as dental professionals, would all be willing to promote but how do these headline grabbing announcements fit against the dental landscape? Global Digital Exemplars, NHS Digital Academy and Clinical Information Officers are all buzzwords recognised as hallmarks of the NHS “harnessing the information revolution” and taking strides towards a technologically advanced future in the provision of healthcare to the UK public that is compatible with the populations we serve. Unfortunately, dentistry does not seem to feature overtly in these plans and we must dig a little deeper to see how we fit into the jigsaw.

The onus is on us, as professionals, to move with the times and embrace technologies as they arise. FC