AV Magazine AV Magazine 
In a survey of medical professionals across Europe, eight out of 10 believe technology can play a vital role in clearing the patient backlog in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The research, which was commissioned by Sony Healthcare Europe, revealed that 83% of clinicians believe that technology can help hospitals and healthcare institutions reduce the post-pandemic patient backlog faster than currently estimated.
However, the figure stood at 97% in 2021, indicating a loss of faith as healthcare systems fall behind with technological investment and struggle to equip frontline health workers with the appropriate tools.
The medical professionals cited outdated IT infrastructures, such as inefficient content management and inadequate workflow solutions, as obstacles to patient care. This was exemplified by the inability to stream live video content during surgical procedures for assessment by other consultants or for training purposes.
Respondents also felt that enhanced clinical workflows could help reduce the backlog in cancer patients by providing a faster and more efficient patient pathway through diagnosis and treatment, as well as telemedicine for virtual appointments and follow-ups with patients.
AI was pinpointed by surgeons as a way of reducing patient backlogs, while virtual monitoring was proposed as a way of freeing up time to see more patients.
The survey polled 300 oncologists and 300 surgeons in France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Poland and the UK.
Ludger Philippsen, Sony’s head of healthcare solutions for Europe, said: “Our survey shows the sustained impact of long patient backlogs on the hard-working surgeons and oncologists on the frontline.
“Healthcare professionals’ trust that technology can help is falling, so it’s the job of technology companies such as Sony to ensure we’re effectively partnering and doing more to provide innovative solutions to help efficiency and timesaving, such as through our scalable digital imaging platform NUCLeUS.”
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