The smart glasses will enable the sharing of live film from care visits with medical colleagues, allowing for an immediate second opinion without the need to schedule additional sessions.
New virtual reality-style eyewear will be tested by nurses during home visits to maximize time spent with patients, according to the NHS.
Smart glasses will transcribe appointments directly into electronic records in real-time, reducing the time spent on administrative activities.
In turn, nurses will have more time to perform clinical tasks such as monitoring blood pressure, examining wounds, and assessing health requirements.
An estimated majority of a community nurse’s day is spent manually inputting data and filling out forms.
The goggles incorporate infrared imaging to assist assess how wounds and injuries have healed and will enable personnel to directly exchange live footage with medical colleagues for a second opinion.
Next week, nurses in the Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust region will begin the experiment with patients who consent to the use of the technology.
The director of the transformation for the NHS, Dr. Tim Ferris, stated, “These new smart glasses are the most cutting-edge technology and demonstrate what the future of the NHS may look like.”
They benefit both staff and patients by freeing nurses from time-consuming administrative tasks, allowing them to devote more time to patient care.
The software used in the smart glasses, dubbed A.Consult, was developed by Concept Health, with founder Farhan Amin stating, “As the smart glasses learn from each patient encounter, it will automate key tasks that are currently performed manually, allowing staff to devote more time to providing holistic, patient-centered care.
Clinical nurse specialist Becky Birchall stated that her team is “eager” to be the first in the nation to conduct community visits using the devices.
We presently spend a large amount of time documenting patient visits; these cutting-edge goggles will significantly reduce the amount of time we must devote to administrative tasks, allowing us to better care for our patients,” she said.
NHS England funded the trust £400,000 to trial the device as part of greater innovation, which will see 16 other pilot schemes in the coming months; the NHS Long Term Plan is committed to utilizing the most advanced technology throughout the country.
