In a busy healthcare environment, timely access to patient records and data is vitally important. If you’re a consultant doing your rounds on a hospital ward and you attempt to access patient records and the IT system won’t work, the only option on many occasions is to log a ticket or engage with an automated chatbot.
Not only is this frustrating, but in an environment where every second counts, lives could potentially be put at risk. Unfortunately, this is not just a hypothetical scenario, it’s a very real issue that is becoming increasingly common in hospitals across the country.
As NHS Trusts continue to pursue ‘zero-touch’ IT support models, the reality on the ground is revealing a growing disconnect between digital ambition and clinical need.
Zero-touch IT in healthcare environments is everywhere, driven by cost pressures, staff shortages and digital transformation targets. AI chatbots, self-service portals and automated ticketing systems are now widely used as front-line support tools and in many cases, are the only option available.
Whilst this approach is great on paper, and may work in the corporate sector, we need to recognise that healthcare is fundamentally different. Clinical settings are unpredictable, high pressure and time critical, and this must be reflected in the IT support available to staff. IT modernisation can’t negatively impact care – it should and can improve it.
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The successful provision of healthcare is reliant on its access to records and data; therefore, systems must be reliable and work at the exact moment they are needed. When they don’t there can be a delay in patient treatment or diagnosis, posing a serious clinical risk.
Beyond patient care, zero-touch IT support can also have a negative impact on staff health and wellbeing. Healthcare professionals are already dealing with rising levels of administrative burden and digital fatigue, and introducing ineffective IT support mechanisms only adds to this pressure, increasing frustration, cognitive load and stress. Over time, this could contribute to burnout, impact job satisfaction and ultimately affect staff retention.
There are also real financial and reputational risks posed by zero-touch IT support. If patient care is delayed due to IT issues, there’s a huge potential for patient safety incidents, potential legal claims and long-term reputational damage to occur.
Other hidden costs, such as wasted clinician time, lost productivity and staff dissatisfaction, are other factors which should be taken into account and which can promptly eat away at any savings zero-touch IT support might have offered to begin with.
What Trusts should be looking to implement is a more balanced, hybrid approach to IT support. This means combining the efficiencies of automation with the responsiveness of human expertise.
What Trusts should be looking to implement is a more balanced, hybrid approach to IT support
IT support procedures need to be better tailored to the individual issues that arise within healthcare settings and take into account how urgent a problem may be. There should be a clear process in place that moves urgent issues away from chat bots and to a human help desk when required and IT teams should be on-site where possible to help resolve any problems. Digital healthcare driven by AI and strong process coordination shouldn’t be about eliminating human interaction altogether; it should be about ensuring human support is available when and where it matters the most.
Core IT service provision in the healthcare sector should be considered with the same level of resilience and reliability that organisations in the defence or financial services sectors expect, where downtime is simply not an option.
Systems must be rigorously implemented, continuously tested and regularly improved, with any updates carefully validated and implemented to ensure they enhance, rather than hinder, the service provided.
Trusts with zero-touch IT support systems in place should do IT and Service Health Checks - auditing their existing service solutions and systems to identify where zero-touch works and where it doesn’t. They should map IT support structures against real workflows to ensure support is provided where it is needed and involve clinicians in any decisions made around future zero-contact procedures. It is vital that healthcare workers flag any known situations where immediate access to human support may be required, and that the service is made available.
Ultimately, technology should remove barriers to care, not become one itself. Healthcare professionals shouldn’t have to put up with support services that don’t work and should not be expected to act as IT specialists themselves. When issues arise, support teams must take ownership, they must be contactable, respond proactively and resolve problems with the same urgency as those actually delivering the care.
