The latest GMC workplace report finds that doctors are increasingly using technology to improve efficiency and create more time for their patients.
Doctors are increasingly using technology, including artificial intelligence (AI), to reduce their administrative burdens, improve efficiency and create more time for their patients, according to a report published by the General Medical Council (GMC).
More than one in four doctors reported improvements they said helped them provide good patient care in the last year, with AI and better patient information systems among the most cited. Many of these doctors specifically cited the electronic patient record system, which became operational across all Northern Ireland Health and Social Care Trust areas in May last year. Doctors said the technology was helping reduce administrative workloads and enabling them to have more meaningful interactions with patients.
Pressures remain, however. More than four in ten doctors (41%) said they found it difficult to provide the level of care they would like at least weekly. For GPs, the figure rose to six in ten (60%). Commonly reported barriers included inadequate staffing, heavy workloads and time spent on bureaucracy and admin, as well as delays for patients awaiting screening or treatment.
Poor coordination between primary and secondary care was also a factor, with only one in five doctors agreeing that coordination was currently effective, with complex cases and systems often the cause.
“Progress is being made, and some of the improvements are deceptively simple, but the challenge is turning those local gains into system-wide improvement,” said GMC chief executive Charlie Massie.
“It won’t be straightforward, and it won’t solve all the problems of an under-pressure workforce, but harnessing technology can make a positive difference for doctors and their patients,” he added.
The survey draws on more than 4,600 doctors, as well as interviews about their experience of working in the UK.
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