Could drones deliver your medicine?

What if the biggest challenge in healthcare wasn't medicine...

...but getting the right people to work together?

In Part 1 of this fascinating conversation, Professor Derek O'Keeffe — consultant endocrinologist, engineer and founder of the Hive Lab at the University of Galway — explains why solving healthcare problems often starts outside the hospital.

From delivering medicines by drone after Storm Ophelia, to creating smart connected medical devices and bringing engineers and clinicians together, this is a story about practical innovation that is already changing lives.

In this episode:

• Why Derek calls himself a "physicianeer"

• Why healthcare is full of engineering problems

• The remarkable drone medicine delivery project

• Why regulation is often a bigger challenge than technology

• The story behind the "digital stent"

• Why the best innovations start with a real human problem

This isn't a conversation about gadgets.

It's about using technology to make public services work better.

Transform Gov is part of the Ireland eGovernment Awards and is brought to you in partnership with Accenture.

Find out more about this year's Leadership Summit and Awards at:

www.digitalgovawards.com

If you enjoy the episode, please like, subscribe and share.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

01:35 What is a "physicianeer"?

03:20 From engineering to medicine

05:12 Why healthcare is full of problems to solve

08:15 Why technology isn't the difficult part

10:48 "The technology is easy. The people are hard."

11:24 The idea that led to medicine delivery by drone

13:18 Aviation, pharmacy and regulation

16:05 Building the Hive Lab

18:42 Collaboration between engineers and clinicians

21:15 The digital stent project

24:10 The garden hose moment

26:40 Why innovation often stays in the drawer

28:50 Making technology work for people

31:00 Final thoughts

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.