University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has completed the integration of its digital dentistry programme with Epic, replacing the use of traditional dental impressions with intra-oral scanners which capture a precise digital image.
UCLH highlighted how the programme addresses a need for a digital solution to tackle inefficiencies and limitations of traditional dental impression methods, which are “time-consuming” and “prone to human error”. The digital solution provides an interface between Epic and the scanners to transfer information, and store images in the cloud to be available to labs for analysis.
Gill Gaskin, the trust’s medical director for digital healthcare, called the integration of the solution with Epic “unique”, adding: “This is a great example of how our digital healthcare team supports clinical and operational colleagues to improve efficiency and patient care – and it fits perfectly with the NHS ambition to move from analogue to digital. Clinicians can easily access and compare digital images over time, enhancing the completeness of medical records and patient safety.”
Wider trend: The role of digital solutions in transforming care
A recent HTN Now webinar took an in-depth look at how technology is transforming skin cancer care at the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust, exploring successes in reducing two-week wait referral time from 57 days to 12 days, looking at challenges for implementing this approach, and sharing advice to other healthcare organisations looking to implement similar digital pathways.
The Mayo Clinic Platform_Accelerate has shared an update on its latest cohort of 15 health tech startups, who are utilising AI to solve health challenges from monitoring heart and lung conditions to detecting alcohol use, tracking disease progression, and predicting life-threatening complications. Startups are involved from across the globe, each utilising access to Mayo Clinic’s de-identified datasets, validation frameworks, clinical workflow planning, and mentorship.
Northumbria Healthcare NHS Trust has awarded a contract to medical software company T-Pro for the procurement of their AI-powered voice solutions, supplying the trust with their digital dictation and speech recognition services. The chosen solutions from T-Pro’s suite of products includes their mobile-first digital diction workflow platform and AI-powered speech technology. The £375k contract will last for three years, ending in April 2028, and forming part of the trust’s wider digital strategy, which aims to “develop and deliver services that support both the clinical staff and the public in accessing our care”.
