Clinician Insights Series 4, Episode 5
We’ve reached the finale of another series of Clinician Insights - one of our biggest yet. If you’ve not joined us before, this blog series is brought to you by Radii, to open up conversations about digital tech and its role in clinical practice.
For this bumper series, we have been joined by Jennifer Dowell, CPO & Advisor to the O&P sector, and Brian L Ruhe, PhD, CP, Paralympian, and Senior Research Scientist at Brooks Running. Through their combined years of experience in practice and research, both in-clinic and behind the scenes at some digital giants in the O&P space, they have unique and deeply informed insight to the role digital technology has played, is taking, and its continued influence on the sector.
If you’ve enjoyed this episode and can’t wait for more, you can read and listen back to previous conversations here.
When we last left off, Jenn had been talking about the role of education in shaping the future of digital O&P tools. In today’s episode, we round out our chats with Jenn and Brian, discussing how Jenn sees the future of O&P coming together.
What role do you think digital technology could play in the future of O&P?
Jenn: Digital solutions have made significant strides in various roles. I believe we can envision a future where these tools continue to enhance clinical practices, offer a consistent, accurate, and efficient approach to quality patient care with reliable expectations and outcomes. Digital tools are increasingly being seen as supplemental teaching tools, and their documentation capabilities are invaluable for longitudinal tracking of individual patients over time while also supporting ongoing research and development for future technological advancements.
One of their most significant impacts could be improving accessibility by bringing care to the patient where they are or making same-day care more manageable. While there are pioneers in this space, it is not yet the standard of care, but it could become the norm in the future.
What role does education play in the adoption of digital tools?
Jenn: It can be challenging for students to receive an introduction or hands on clinical training with digital tools, which can diminish their confidence in using these technologies post-graduation and make it harder to embrace change after their residencies, leading them to rely on traditional methods.
Fortunately, there is a growing recognition of the need to integrate digital solutions into O&P education. However, several challenges arise in this discussion, including selecting which digital solution providers to prioritize, determining who will create and deliver the content, and figuring out how to blend it with traditional techniques of the current curriculum.
Incorporating digital technologies into O&P education programs will enhance and promote the adoption of these tools throughout the profession.
And finally - looking into the future - what is something digital technology can’t do yet, but you’re hopeful we’ll see someday?
Jenn: Excellent question. We are closer than ever, but we must improve our approach to overcoming the collective barriers to wider digital workflow adoption in O&P. In the past 3-5 years, we've seen the emergence of new and innovative digital technologies; however, we need to find ways to connect them for broader accessibility. That is what I envision technology can bring to the future of O&P.
Thanks to Jenn and Brian for their time!
We hope that through following Clinicians Insights, you feel part of an ongoing conversation that furthers understanding of digital technology and research, supporting O&P practitioners who provide our patients with the best comfort, fit and socket fitting experience. If you’ve got thoughts, opinions or insight to share we’d like to hear from you; click the link below to get in touch:
We’re excited to continue with Series 5 of Clinician Insights early next year, watch this space!
Speak soon,
Jenny, Josh and the Radii team.