[London, UK] Jeremy Hunt, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has asked Dr Eric Topol to lead a review looking at what training NHS staff would need to undertake to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies and robotics.
Dr Topol, a renowned American cardiologist, geneticist, and digital medicine researcher, will look opportunities for the government to invest in training and assess the implications of advancements in digital technology on the skills of future professionals.
Dr Topol will also look at genomics and digital medicine, as a report from the Commons Science and Technology Committee released earlier this month urged the NHS to address problems with its IT infrastructure to ensure that it does not compromise roll out of the Genomic Medicine Service in the UK, set to become available later on this year.
With the new review, Hunt says he wants to ‘empower staff to offer patients modern healthcare more widely and more quickly’.
Dr Topol will start with a visit at Moorfields Eye Hospital, where, through a partnership with Google’s AI hub DeepMind Health, experts are looking to see if machine learning technology can speed up diagnosis of eye disease.
“While it’s hard to predict the future, we know artificial intelligence, digital medicine and genomics will have an enormous impact for improving the efficiency and precision in healthcare.
“Our review will focus on the extraordinary opportunities to leverage these technologies for the healthcare workforce and power a sustainable and vibrant NHS,” Dr Topol said.
