Milton Keynes University Hospital trials Dora AI assistant

Milton Keynes University Hospital (MKUH) is trialling a conversational AI assistant to streamline outpatient appointments in its ophthalmology department.

The digital assistant, called Dora, has been developed by Oxford University spin-out company Ufonia to reduce wait times for routine check-ups and allow healthcare professionals to see more patients.

Dora launched at MKUH on 29 July 2024 for post cataract follow-up appointments and will be trialled for 12 months, according to a press release on the Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust website.

The AI assistant is able to hold two-way follow-up calls with patients following surgery and have automated conversations with them about their symptoms and whether the patient needs their second eye operated on, as well as answering common questions and collecting feedback on the service provided.

Ian Reckless, chief medical officer at MKUH, told Digital Health News: “Through successful trials across other NHS trusts, Dora has proven to improve patient experience and streamline the outpatient appointment process for both patients and staff.

“At MKUH, it is hoped that our use of Dora will enable us to reduce wait times for routine check-ups and to allow our teams to see more of our patients as well as providing them with more time to focus on those patients with more complex care needs”.

Dora has been successfully deployed at trusts across the NHS including Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust, which introduced the system in December 2022.

It is also being used at: Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, and University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust.

The development of Dora was supported by Health Innovation Oxford and Thames Valley, which carried out a feasibility study, assessed feedback from clinicians and evaluated the cost benefits of incorporating Dora into the post-operative patient pathway.

A study by researchers at Oxford University Hospitals (OUH) NHS Foundation Trust and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, published in The Lancet’s open access journal eClinicalMedicine in July 2024, found that Dora enhances patient care after cataract surgery.

Meanwhile, Lancashire and South Cumbia NHS Foundation Trust has announced plans to roll out an intelligent patient portal (IPP) created by EBO before October 2024, with the aim of delivering AI-powered, two-way conversation.

EPO says that four more trusts are expected to roll out its IPP solution, which uses natural language processing and language recognition, in 2024.

Research commissioned by think tank the Health Foundation, published in July 2024, found that 76% of NHS staff and 54% of the public support the use of AI to help with patient care.

In June 2024, the Health Foundation published a paper calling for a dedicated strategy for AI in healthcare, which set out six key priorities that must be addressed if the benefits of AI are to be realised.