Dr Bob Phillips, Senior Academic Consultant at University of York, Consultant Paediatric Oncologist at Leeds Children’s Hospital and CCLG member, writes...
The digital world once stood very much apart from the real. E-mail was laboriously opened in chunks like the post that arrived twice daily. Computer games took longer to load up from cassette tapes than a cup of tea takes to make. Databases were physically located on banks of CD drives in libraries, and it was only special people who had access to health data.
Things moved on, sped up, and became more accessible. Many households gained a computer and transitioned online. Internet usage switched from occasional to always. Mobiles evolved to include smartphones, and soon it was possible to be on the train keeping on top of your mail. Things keep evolving, and digital now pervades.
The pandemic pushed us even more. Before it, only very occasionally would we have a remote meeting. Now I find myself asking - slightly excitedly still - “Can that be face to face?”. Digital evolvement has opened up the world of electronic-only notes and allowed easy access to investigation results and complex guidelines. It’s brought the rapid transfer of images, prescriptions, pictures - across the hospital, region or globe – and we can network with parents from across the country for a psychological support intervention.
What do I think we have lost from the world? Well, I still prefer a child’s drawing in crayon and glitter than pixels and PNG. I miss the gossip over bad coffee and pastries. Expecting instant information troubles me, and I personally need to learn how to manage the deluge of possibility better!
But when colleagues from across the region can be brought together remotely to discuss a case, or academic collaborators from around the world can chat through a study or we’re able to catch up with patients who don’t need to spend an hour driving each way, all of this is I can forgive.
From Contact issue 93 - December 2021
