Australians missing out on ‘major gap’ between innovation and patient care

Promising health tools that seek to predict a person’s risk of serious health problems before they happen are rarely being used in everyday health care, according to new Curtin University research. The review, published in The Lancet Regional Health – Western Pacific, found Australia has developed a growing number of tools that can identify people at risk of conditions such as heart disease, falls, frailty and diabetes complications, but very few are being routinely used by health services.

Lead researcher Dr. Jennifer Dunne, from Curtin University’s Dementia Center of Excellence, said the findings highlighted a major gap between medical innovation and patient care.

“Australia has developed a range of tools that can help identify people at risk of future health problems earlier, giving health professionals the chance to step in before problems become more serious,” Dunne said. “But while these tools show promise at the development stage, most are never adopted widely enough to make a real difference.”

The researchers reviewed more than 7,000 studies and identified just 21 examples of risk prediction and screening tools being used in Australian health care settings. Many of the tools used artificial intelligence or digital technology to help clinicians spot early warning signs of disease or declining health.

Dunne said the problem was not a lack of innovation. “We’ve seen strong innovation in this area, but our findings suggest much more attention is needed on how effective tools can be implemented and sustained in routine health care,” she said.

The study found health care workers generally supported the use of these tools and patients often responded positively, but barriers such as funding constraints, workforce pressures and difficulties integrating new technology into existing systems slowed uptake.

Implementation science expert and co-author Professor Bronwyn Myers, director of Curtin’s enAble Institute, said the findings reflected a broader challenge across health care systems worldwide.

“Developing a tool is only the first step. The real challenge is making sure it can be successfully integrated into busy health care settings and sustained over time,” Myers said. “Health care systems operate under significant funding and resource constraints, so even effective tools can struggle to gain traction if they don’t fit naturally into existing workflows or aren’t supported by the right systems, training and funding.

“Implementation science methods can help us design tools that are feasible to implement in real-world practice and strategies that support their adoption.”

Senior author Professor Blossom Stephan, director of the Dementia Center of Excellence at Curtin, said improving the use of existing tools could play an important role in supporting healthy aging and reducing the future burden of dementia.

“As Australia’s population ages, identifying health risks earlier will become increasingly important for helping people stay healthy and independent for longer,” Stephan said. “Many of the conditions leading to lost independence, hospitalization and dementia develop silently over many years. Knowing your risk earlier, before symptoms appear, gives individuals and their health professionals the chance to intervene sooner and make changes to support healthier aging.”

Co-author Dr. Leanne Greene, from the University of Exeter, said, “Australia has no shortage of innovative health technologies, but innovation alone does not improve care. Our review highlights that we need to invest just as much effort in understanding how effective tools can be embedded into routine health care as we do in developing them.”

With the number of Australians age 65 and older continuing to rise, the researchers warn that failing to translate proven innovations into practice risks missing a valuable opportunity to improve care, support healthy aging and reduce pressure on the health care system.

The review is the first to examine how risk prediction and screening tools are being implemented across the Australian health care system.

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Lisa Lock

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