Virtual visions in healthcare

By Angie Trivisonno

Lady looking at glass tablet with digital data
Lady using virtual reality headset
Baby out of the womb
Lady using virtual reality headset
Baby out of the womb

“I imagine a baby girl born today receiving digital healthcare that continuously evolves and improves during her life."

"This could mean her GP can predict and prevent her from developing health issues like adult-onset diabetes, or her specialist uses artificial intelligence to keep her safe during a difficult pregnancy or medical robots are employed to replace her hip in later life.”

Lady looking front on against projected data visualisation
Lady looking front on against projected data visualisation

For Associate Professor Clair Sullivan it is all about patients and the people who care for them.

“Before I start any new research, I spend time thinking about the people who will use the end products of my work,” Dr Sullivan explains.

 “From professional healthcare providers, such as specialists and family doctors, to patients, like just-born babies and great-grandparents. I want my research to improve the lives of others by transforming the healthcare they receive. 

“I can do this by helping to create a learning healthcare system that routinely collects data and patient experiences to continuously monitor and improve outcomes. Ultimately, I want to leave the health system better than how I found it.”

It’s no surprise that Dr Sullivan works with technology after recognising her higher calling from an early age. 

“The nuns who taught me in primary school had some of the first Apple computers created and I was hooked,” Dr Sullivan reveals. 

“I had a wonderful time at school and growing up in Queensland, filling my time with lots of outdoor activities and reading books. I also travelled a lot and lived in the United States of America and the United Kingdom. Now, I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else! 

“I have always loved science and knew that I wanted to be a doctor from an early age. I have also always had a great interest in technology. I’m lucky that my work at UQ incorporates both.”

Person in scrubs holding a digital screen
Person in scrubs holding a digital screen

It’s clear that Dr Sullivan chose a career in healthcare because she wanted to make a difference in people’s lives and help them live longer. 

“After receiving my Honours in Medicine at UQ, I completed a Research Doctorate in Medicine through the University of Leeds and training with the National Health Service in the UK. My first role in the Queensland public health system was as a specialist endocrinologist,” Dr Sullivan says. 

“However, I quickly realised that digital health would be the future of healthcare and I moved into this area.

“I began a parallel career in this emerging field at the time by gaining my Fellowship in Digital Health.

“From there, I became a Clinical Lead for the roll-out of integrated electronic Medical Records in Queensland public hospitals, which was an Australian-first project that transformed our day-to-day healthcare. This really helped me to understand the power of computing for healthcare.

“My main contribution was assembling teams of people far smarter than myself and uniting them to a common goal,” Dr Sullivan says smiling.

“I enable talented people to create wonderful new knowledge and ways of working.”

Dr Sullivan was appointed Associate Professor of Medicine in Clinical Informatics at UQ in 2020 and is now the inaugural Head of UQ’s Digital Health Centre.

Floating mobile in front of sitting child
Floating mobile in front of sitting child

“Digital healthcare offers countless opportunities for seamless and cutting-edge research, faster translation of research findings into clinical practice, and better outcomes for patients and the entire health system,” Dr Sullivan affirms.

“Digital health also creates wonderful collaborative work environments, locally and internationally, where everybody in the team, including clinicians, information technology specialists and clinical informaticians, contribute to achieve success. 

“I think it’s becoming clearer to all of us that current models of healthcare are no longer fit for purpose, and we need to harness emerging technologies, like artificial intelligence, to reduce the load on clinicians and deliver better outcomes.”

Right now, Dr Sullivan is working on the SMART Project – a gateway to Queensland’s digital health future. 

“This project gives researchers well governed and ethical pathways to access health data like Queensland Health’s integrated Medical Records, and access to sophisticated tools, such as Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning,” Dr Sullivan says.

“This work is laying the foundation for a digital health revolution where researchers can accelerate learning and translate research findings into clinical practice at rapid speed.

“At the moment, it takes a long time for the benefits of traditional quality improvement projects to be realised because people can be very slow to adopt new practices.

“By switching to digital delivery, we can literally reduce potential harm overnight, for example, with medication errors, which is a wonderful outcome.

Robotic arm
Two red hearts on teal background
Robotic arm
Two red hearts on teal background

“Digital health is already transforming the way we live and interact with healthcare providers.

“Queensland Health’s integrated electronic Medical Records, for example, is making it easier for clinicians to make complex healthcare decisions. Elderly people are for the first time now using technology such as virtual care to interact with doctors and carers. And, in the next 5-10 years, we will see Artificial Intelligence enable better and more precise care.

“Until then, and in the midst all the challenging, life-changing and globally significant work going on, I regularly remind myself and my team that patients are at the heart of everything, and we love what we do!”

Clair Sullivan

Associate Professor Clair Sullivan is based at the UQ Centre for Health Services Research.

She is widely published in clinical informatics and serves on several national advisory boards for digital health, including the Australian Digital Health Agency Clinical and Technical Advisory Committee, the AMA Digital Health Committee and chairing the RACP Digital Health Working group and the National mHealth Strategy Steering Committee.

This story is featured in the Summer 2022 edition of UQmedicine Magazine. View the latest edition here. Or to listen, watch, or read more stories from UQ’s Faculty of Medicine, visit our blog, MayneStream.