‘I think we should call them Murray’: South Link looks to ‘robo docs’ to lighten workload

South Link Health has 40 new “colleagues” arriving from overseas before Christmas, says chief executive Murray Tilyard.

The colleagues in question are clinical patient kiosks arriving in Dunedin from China this month.

These “robo docs” sit in waiting rooms and can see up to 180 patients per day, taking a range of clinical measurements usually done by health professionals: blood pressure, oxygen level, height, weight, temperature, pulse and body composition.

During research and design of its kiosks and their “smart care” software, South Link discovered about $100 million is spent paying professionals to carry out these measurements every year. The kiosks can save 75 per cent of that cost, Professor Tilyard says.

General practices and urgent-care centres will pay $600 a month to lease a kiosk ($7200 per device a year).

Professor Tilyard says the average practice will save $70,000 worth of professionals’ time once staff and patients get used to the new system.

Some of the first shipment of kiosks will be functioning in practices within weeks; most will be distributed early in the new year, he says.

Twenty-seven are already spoken for by South Link general practices and urgent-care centres, and Professor Tilyard expects to order two or three more shipments soon.

Each patient will have a QR code linked to their health information and accessible via their cell-phone number.

Patients can self-refer to the kiosk, practitioners may ask patients to visit the kiosk for measurements 15 minutes before their appointment, or they can be scheduled an appointment with the kiosk in place of their human-based check-up.

When the QR code is scanned, the system will know which measurements to take and what to look out for according to the patient’s history.

The body composition measurement tool can be particularly helpful for mapping unhealthy weight loss in older people, and to stay informed about when patients with terminal conditions may be eligible for funded food supplements, Professor Tilyard says.

However, patients will not be able to access the body composition tool unless recommended by their GP..

The kiosk is programmed to react appropriately according to measurement outcomes. For example, the patient will be informed in real time if their blood pressure is within the healthy range or whether they need to come back in five days due to slightly high or low levels. If the kiosk takes a dangerously high or low reading, the practice’s reception is immediately notified.

Professor Tilyard believes patients will not miss the human interaction. “People generally have good common sense; they will know if they need to see a human rather than a kiosk,” he says.

For patients with severe mental health conditions, the kiosks will come with strict guidelines, and they will never completely replace practitioner care.

Five South Link practices have been trialling the clinical kiosks for the past 12 months, with the response being an enthusiastic one.

One local walking group has taken to dropping in once a month so members can take regular health measurements.

Early in 2023, South Link will take the kiosk on tour around Aotearoa and it’s preparing to provide up to 800 practices with the Smart Care technology.

While some practices may not want a kiosk or not have the space for it, Professor Tilyard says many will request two or three, and urgent-care centres may require up to four or five kiosks.

South Link has also been asked to present the clinical kiosk to the NHS in the UK. Professor Tilyard believes he has worked in general practice long enough to be immortalised through the new device’s name.

“I think we should call them ‘Murray’,” he says.