Moorfields Eye Hospital launches department of digital medicine

Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has announced it is launching a department of digital medicine which aims to accelerate the use of technology.

The new department will be responsible for monitoring the clinical safety of digital systems, coordinating clinical input into the design of digital infrastructure, and supporting the implementation of new technologies like artificial intelligence (AI).

It will also undertake real-world validation of new technology and provide a place for rapid piloting of new digital services.

The department brings together the trust’s existing clinical informatics leadership, Digital Clinical Lab and Reading Centre, and will work closely with the Health Data Research UK INSIGHT hub.

Louisa Wickham, medical director at Moorfields Eye Hospital, said: “Moorfields has always been a world leader in digital medicine and this new department will help us to continue to make big strides in utilising the latest technologies to transform the way in which we deliver ophthalmic care so that we can continue to provide the best care for our patients.”

The trust said in a statement the “department of digital medicine will help us on our journey towards creation of a learning healthcare system in which we continuously use data collected from our services to improve the care we provide”.

Moorfield’s department of digital medicine will join some of the trust’s exisiting projects such as video appointments, online A&E service, remote assessment in optometry practices, home vision monitoring, and using AI to diagnose common eye conditions.

It also follows Moorfields signed a five-year deal with software provider Civica that will see the trust introduce a cloud-based digital referral platform, which Digital Health News reported in December 2019.

We are the hosts of Digital Health Rewired 2021, the must-attend virtual festival celebrating the best of digital health and care, taking place across 15-19 March 2021. Get a flavour of Rewired 2021 from the video below. You can book your place here