Digital Healthcare Technology Report 2019

Published 9 abril 2019

Digital Healthcare Technology:
Enabling Clinicians, Empowering Patients.

Technology is revolutionising NHS care. At the forefront of this revolution are apps and data platforms that promote seamless data sharing, and digital first care powered by artificial intelligence (AI). Alongside this, the use of wearables is engaging patients in the management of their care and provides opportunity for better data analysis. A fresh ‘digital charge’ is being led by an enthused Health and Social Care Secretary, who has banned the purchase of fax machines, committed to ‘purging the pager’ and told staff to communicate digitally to promote information sharing: the digital revolution is gaining pace.

I recently attended the Cambridge Health Network Digital Health Summit and witnessed the incredible strides being taken in medtech – from deep learning software interpreting mammogram images with greater accuracy; the application and benefits of digimeds, through to the importance of federated learning models to help test AI in a manner that does not create data sharing bottlenecks. The pace of development of medtech is incredibly exciting and has great potential to improve patient care.

The NHS Long Term Plan (January 2019) set out a ten-year roadmap that describes how technology will enable clinicians to access and interact with patient records and care plans, wherever they are. More recently, the Topol Review (February 2019) anticipates how technological innovation will impact the roles and functions of healthcare staff, and how to prepare the workforce for this.

The NHS is already a complex technology ecosystem, with a range of different IT suppliers and systems adopted across the country. This in turn means different services are likely to adopt new technology in different ways. Progress is likely to be incremental.

In this 'Digital Healthcare Technology Report', experts in information sharing, primary care and mental health have shared their insight into how the use of technology is developing in the NHS, the practical benefits, and some of the challenges to overcome.

Technology is often heralded as a way to make the NHS more efficient, provide a more seamless service to patients, and to save money. However, critical to any successful implementation of new tech will be the cultural transformation required to embed digital healthcare technologies. This requires investment, education, and training for staff to change entrenched working practices and attitudes.

Patient safety is paramount, and clear legal frameworks for the assessment of such new technology must provide both confidence to patients and assurance to purchasing NHS organisations.

We’d like to take this opportunity to thank our six expert participants: Paul Bate (Managing Director, NHS Services at Babylon Health), Christopher Hilton (Director of Strategy and Clinical Director for Integrated Care, West London NHS Trust), Hugh Lloyd-Jukes (Chief Executive of Oxehealth), Sam Shah (Director of Digital Development at NHS England), Susan Sinclair (Chief Executive at AT Medics) and Murat Soncul (Head of Information Governance at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust).

Click here to download the report in full, or see below for the relevant articles:

INFORMATION SHARING

Technology is changing the way both clinicians and patients access their data, with information sharing key to making integrated care a success. In this chapter we look at how different information solutions are breaking down barriers in healthcare.

Click here to read article on information sharing.

PRIMARY CARE

The commitment to digital-first primary care is clearly stated in the NHS Long Term Plan. But what are the challenges and opportunities for digitally enabled primary care?

Click here to read article on primary care.

MENTAL HEALTH

The mental health sector is leading the way in technology, and has embraced some of the opportunities around technology faster than acute hospitals. We examine a number of pioneering projects helping vulnerable patients access the care they need.

Click here to read article on mental health.

REPORT SUMMARY

The implementation of technology is improving patient care. The insights from our contributors, along with our own experience advising clients in the sector, lead to a number of conclusions…

Click here to read the report summary.