As 2024 draws to a close, I’m reflecting on what matters most to us at Proximie: the people behind every procedure, every collaboration, and every patient outcome.
At this time of year it is natural to reflect on the road we’ve travelled and the possibilities that lie ahead. And in the finest traditions of the festive season, I thought I would take inspiration from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol and take you on a journey through the past, present, and future of healthcare as I see it today. A look at the lessons learned, the progress we have made, and the opportunities that lie ahead.
The ghost of healthcare past: learning from every action
From Texas to Tanzania, Proximie has been used around the world by skilled healthcare teams all united by one aim: to care for their patients. As a surgeon, this unifying spirit of patient-centred care continues to give me immense hope for the future. It is a spirit that has permeated healthcare forever and it is a spirit that I believe will never change. But looking back, it’s important to also acknowledge the immense challenges that have shaped our story so far.
Limited access to safe surgical care, stark health inequities in every corner of the globe, and the absence of Universal Health Coverage in surgery have left deep marks on the global healthcare landscape. For too long geography has dictated the quality of care and the majority of people have lacked access to safe, timely and affordable surgery - more than five billion people to be precise. Where you live in the world should never dictate your level of care, but sadly this is a problem everywhere not just somewhere, which means our work is never done. Yet, even amidst these past challenges that very much still remain true today, we’ve come a long way.
As I look back at my own career as a surgeon, when our movements both individually and collectively in the OR were anchored to one moment in time and then gone forever, to now seeing healthcare teams recording, archiving and analysing every facet of their work to ultimately improve their performance is remarkable.
At Proximie, it is our greatest privilege to be able to witness the varied skills of eclectic teams around the world. Using our platform - before, during and after surgery - teams have been able to begin to understand, in a simple and objective way, their OR or healthcare system's pain points.
As a surgeon, I’m inspired by how far we’ve come and deeply aware of the lessons the past holds for us. It’s crucial we continue to learn, continue to innovate, and continue to strive for equity as we build on the foundations of the past.
The ghost of healthcare present: progress in motion
Today, the healthcare landscape is defined by remarkable technological advancements and unprecedented challenges.
Workforce shortages, mounting productivity demands, growing and ageing populations and greater equity in care remain pressing issues. Healthcare systems are being asked to do more with less, which underlines the importance of fostering a culture of data, technology and innovation. We fundamentally need to unlock more efficient and scalable methods of healthcare delivery because we can’t afford not to. Every team needs to find innovative ways to become more productive, more cohesive, and more efficient.
It therefore gives me immense pride to see how our platform and our partnerships with our customers are not only connecting teams around the world this year, but are connecting them in a way that is making a tangible difference in driving new levels of productivity. This year telesurgery is on the rise and Proximie, as one of the pioneers of it, is well-placed to capitalise on its use with our real-time connectivity solutions and our ability to seamlessly support and build upon the latest innovations in the market. The progress being made is encouraging but it remains incumbent on us and other major players in the industry to continue to challenge the very fabric of healthcare delivery.
Proximie’s ability to capture ambient data and turn this objective source of truth into insights that can help teams identify the root causes of patterns, trends, and bottlenecks is helping teams to drive new levels of performance.
With the invaluable support, feedback and continued use of Proximie, our growing customer base has helped to triple our presence in operating rooms (ORs) in 2024. Collaboration is the cornerstone of driving meaningful change in healthcare; I see this in action daily in ORs, and just as often as a CEO too. This year we have made significant strides in collectively driving the digital evolution of the once analogue environment of the operating room, with Proximie emerging as the Operating System for Operating Rooms. We are helping to contextualise everything that happens in any given OR to help deliver insights that are empowering teams to measure and act upon opportunities for improvement.
Proximie’s work in global health, particularly in East Africa, stands as a beacon of hope too, demonstrating what’s possible when accessible technology brings dedicated people together that all want to make an impact. In 2024 alone, Proximie’s global health initiatives have helped transform lives across Kenya, Rwanda, and beyond, advancing our mission to democratise access to safe surgery.
Together we have collectively been helping to create smarter, more digitally-connected and data-driven operating rooms, all with a view to helping patients. By enabling healthcare teams worldwide to record, archive, and analyse their work, we’re transforming the operating room into a hub of continuous learning and improvement.
The ghost of healthcare future: A vision of digital transformation
Digitisation, connectivity, and advancements in AI and Machine Learning are reshaping what’s possible in the operating room. Imagine operating rooms that integrate real-time automation, predictive analytics, and seamless connectivity across teams and devices? This isn’t a distant dream - it's a vision realised and a solution that will become commonplace in ORs for more of our customers in 2025.
In the coming year, we will continue to push the boundaries of what is possible in an operating room. New technology, new partnerships and further expansion plans has to be our aim in order to bring Proximie to more ORs, enabling us to deliver on our mission of transforming surgery. By leveraging AI and data and by creating a platform that has been built from the ground up so that it is easily used by anyone, anywhere in the world, we aim to create a future where surgical excellence is not a privilege but a standard accessible to all. This means getting ahead of the curve, by working closely with our partners to offer the real-time view of the OR and a dashboard that paints the perfect view of how to deliver value-based medicine at every single turn; objective, simple and ambient data. A forward looking view of complete performance in and around the OR and a software platform powered by our own AI technologies that ultimately means no more wasted time between lists. Less public or private money lost. The end to broken scheduling, on the day cancelations or late starts. These are just some of the areas for improvement, but the opportunities for automated real-time optimisations are endless and they are key to driving better healthcare.
But this future isn’t just about technology. It’s ultimately about people. From healthcare providers and administrators to innovators and patients, each of us has a role to play. Modern surgery is no longer about an individual, it is a team pursuit. The onus now is very much on ‘we’ not ‘I’. The collaboration, the connectivity, the communication, the collective. The magic that happens between departments with technology and of course, with the patient. Every person in the ecosystem of surgery has a crucial role to play and together, we can drive the transformation of healthcare into a more equitable, efficient, and compassionate system.
A call to reflection and action
As we look ahead to 2025, let us reflect on what we’ve learned and the progress we’ve made. Let us celebrate the spirit of collaboration that unites us and renew our commitment to shaping the future of healthcare. At Proximie, we are honoured to be part of this journey, working alongside extraordinary teams around the world. To all those who have been part of our story, past, present, and future, thank you. Together, we can make 2025 even brighter.
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