Digital Health Unplugged: How digital maturity can help close the NHS' ten-year divide

The latest episode of Digital Health Unplugged features Holly Coole, senior manager for digital mental health at the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), talking about the regulation of digital mental health technologies (DMHTs). Tammy Lovell, news editor at Digital Health News, chats to Coole about the three-year Digital Mental Health Project, which aims to improve outcomes for people with mental health conditions by ensuring that both medical professionals and the public have safe and effective access to DMHTs. In the podcast they discuss how the project, led by the MHRA in partnership with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, aims to provide clarity around the key considerations for the regulation and valuation of DMHTs.   They also talk about the challenges of regulating this area and why it is so important to protect patient safety, and ensure access to effective products for mental health.  Coole, who is a registered mental health nurse, co-authored a paper on the project, published in The Lancet Digital Health in January 2025. Listen to this episode to discover what this project means for the future of mental health technology in the UK. Guest: Holly Coole, senior manager for digital mental health at the MHRA  

In the first episode of the new year, Jordan Sollof, reporter at Digital Health News chats to Rachel Dunscombe, chief executive of OpenEHR International, about the importance of healthcare data, electronic patient records (EPRs) and having more female representation in digital health.  Dunscombe stresses the importance of standardised, quality data in improving healthcare and outcomes and what AI is capable of achieving in 2025 and beyond. She also gives her take on the UK EPR market and whether anything more needs to be done to make better use of the platforms, before highlighting the importance of women having leadership roles and there being diversity in the digital health sector. Dunscombe is a confirmed keynote speaker at Digital Health Rewired 2025. She looks ahead to the event and explains what she is hoping to take from it and get across to the audience. Digital Health Rewired takes place on 18-19 March 2025 at the NEC in Birmingham and is free for those in the NHS and public sector. Guest: Rachel Dunscombe, chief executive at OpenEHR International  

In the final Unplugged episode of the year, the Digital Health News team reflect on the biggest stories covered in 2024 and look ahead to what they think will be big on the news agenda in 2025. Stories discussed include Lord Darzi’s independent investigation into the state of the NHS and the hotly-anticipated Autumn Budget, in which more than £2 billion investment was announced for NHS technology and digital. Cyber security is also a hot topic, with three major attacks on the NHS including the attack on pathology provider Synnovis causing widespread disruption to services in south east London. The team also discuss the federated data platform and controversy surrounding its supplier Palantir. Listen on to hear the news team’s analysis of 2024 and predictions for the new year… Panel: Jordan Sollof, podcast host and news reporter at Digital Health Jon Hoeksma, chief executive at Digital Health Tammy Lovell, news editor at Digital Health Thelma Agnew, features editor at Digital Health Thanks for listening to the show throughout 2024. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!  

The latest episode of Digital Health Unplugged explores how data and digital solutions are improving care pathways and advancing clinical research. Brought to you in partnership with Oracle Health, Jordan Sollof passes the hosting duties over to Ryan Irwin, lead client executive at Oracle Health. He is joined by Ameet Bakhai, consultant cardiologist, physician and research director at The Royal Free NHS Foundation Trust, and Debbie Phillips, chief clinical information officer (CCIO) at Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. The pair explain how data and digital solutions can improve care pathways and clinical research that brings significant opportunity for improving health outcomes, and the need to ensure effective planning, staff and patient engagement and implementation strategies. The episode also highlights how Milton Keynes is designing enhanced clinical workflows that are underpinned with technology and use data for continuous improvement. Digital Health would like to thank its partner for this episode, Oracle Health. Panel: Ryan Irwin, lead client executive at Oracle Health Ameet Bakhai, consultant cardiologist, physician and research director at The Royal Free NHS Foundation Trust Debbie Phillips, CCIO at Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust  

Jordan Sollof is joined by DJ Hamblin-Brown and Simon Weldon in an episode focused on the challenges of clinical coordination in the UK health system and how they can be addressed. Hamblin-Brown, emergency doctor and chief executive at digital health firm CAREFUL, and Weldon, chief executive at South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust, discuss what is meant by clinical coordination, why it is important to patients and families and how it is relevant to the Labour government’s new policy agenda. The pair explain why clinical coordination is difficult to achieve, give examples of best practice and highlight the main issues that the NHS is facing. They suggest how digital can play a key role in the helping the health system to become more coordinated, before looking ahead with optimism for the future. Guests: DJ Hamblin-Brown, emergency doctor and chief executive at CAREFUL Simon Weldon, CEO at South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust    

The Digital Health news team gathered for the latest episode of Unplugged to dissect what Lord Darzi’s independent investigation into the state of the NHS has to say about digital and tech. The report, published on 12 September 2024, says that the NHS is in “serious trouble” and highlights “worrying health inequalities” and a deterioration in the health of the nation. The news team debate Lord Darzi’s view that the last decade has been a missed opportunity to prepare the NHS for the future and embrace technologies that would enable a shift in the model from ‘diagnose and treat’ to ‘predict and prevent’. They also discuss the idea that tech needs to be better utilised to shift care out of hospitals and into the community and the importance of getting the basics right first through focusing on core infrastructure and hardware. The view that the NHS App has yet to reach its potential is discussed before the team look ahead to the autumn budget and speculate whether the Labour government will commit to £3.4 billion of investment in NHS digitisation announced by the former government in March 2024. Read Digital Health News’ coverage of the Darzi report, including industry reactions here. Panel: Jordan Sollof, podcast host and news reporter at Digital Health Jon Hoeksma, chief executive at Digital Health Tammy Lovell, news editor at Digital Health Thelma Agnew, features editor at Digital Health  

Jordan Sollof, reporter at Digital Health News, is joined by Lloyd Price and Mohammad Al-Ubaydli to talk about procurement and why the NHS is so difficult to sell to. From their own experience, Price, a healthtech founder, mergers and acquisitions advisor and non-executive director for various digital health companies, and Al-Ubaydli, founder and chief executive of digital health social enterprise, Patients Know Best, shine a light on the main issues that can make selling to the NHS a challenge. The pair discuss success stories of startups which have successfully sold to the NHS, before assessing whether companies and suppliers need to take more care in ensuring they are pitching the right solution to the right organisation. They give their views on whether the NHS procurement process has become overcomplicated, a point raised in a session at Rewired 2024, and speculate whether the forthcoming Procurement Act (which was originally due to come into force in October 2024, but has been delayed until February 2025) will solve some issues and make it easier for those selling in the health technology sector. Finally, the guests predict what they anticipate will happen in the coming months and years, including whether the NHS will become a simpler system as a whole to sell to or if we will still be having the same conversation about difficulties selling in a few years’ time. Guests: Lloyd Price, health tech founder, mergers and acquisitions advisor and non-executive director for various digital health companies Mohammad Al-Ubaydli, founder and chief executive of Patients Know Best  

Tammy Lovell is joined by Victoria Betton, director at Peopledotcom and Hassan Chaudhury, commercial director at DATA-CAN, to talk about how to overcome racism and discrimination in the digital health sector. Along with NHS doctor Ayesha Rahim, Betton and Chaudhury are founders behind the creation of an Equity Charter, which aims to put anti-racism guiding principles for the sector in place. In the podcast, they discuss how the idea for the charter was formed at Digital Health Rewired in March 2024, following racist remarks made by TPP founder Frank Hestor, reported in The Guardian. This led Rahim, Betton and Chaudhury to publish an open letter online condemning racism and discrimination in digital health, which has had more than 1,000 signatories. In July 2024, the three founders held a summit at The King’s Fund in London, attended by around 30 stakeholders, to discuss what should be included in an Equity Charter. In the podcast, the pair discuss how the views expressed by NHS suppliers can affect patient care and what needs to happen to make sure that everyone in the supply chain adheres to equality, diversity and inclusion policies. Chaudhury also highlights how anti-racism in digital health goes further than procurement, and why some NHS organisations and employees are choosing to leave X because it no longer aligns with their values. You can find out more about the Equity Charter and sign here. Guests: Victoria Betton, director at Peopledotcom Hassan Chaudhury, commercial director at DATA-CAN and head of commercial at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust  

Jordan Sollof is joined by Chris Chaney, chief executive of CW+, the official charity of Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, to talk all things Digital Health Rewired Pitchfest. Chaney, who will once again be part of the judging panel for Pitchfest 2025 announced recently, talks about some success stories that have come from the annual competition for start-ups and how it has been a platform for companies to go on and achieve big things. He then explains what makes a perfect pitch and what exactly the judges are looking for, before highlighting why start-ups should apply for the next edition. Rewired Pitchfest is an annual competition for startups, offering them the chance to pitch in front of a live audience of NHS leaders, investors and industry peers. The winners will gain access to expert advice from CW+ and Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust’s CW Innovation team, and the potential to run a project in the trust. The live Pitchfest finals will take place in the Start-Up Zone at Rewired 2025, at the NEC in Birmingham, 18-19 March 2025. Applications for Pitchfest close on 23 August 2024. Rules and judging criteria can be found here. Guest: Chris Chaney, chief executive of CW+, the Chelsea and Westminster Health Charity  

In an episode brought to you in partnership with Virgin Media O2 Business, Jordan Sollof is joined by Mark Burton, the company’s health and social care lead, to discuss digital maturity across the NHS and how it can help close the NHS’ ten-year divide. Burton analyses the current state of digital maturity across the NHS, the challenges integrated care boards are facing with integrating and using their data, and the impact on both staff and patients. He then highlights how technology can be used to help close the digital divide across the NHS and what the role of private and public partnerships is to achieve this goal. Digital Health would like to thank its partner for this episode Virgin Media O2 Business, a customer-first organisation that brings mobile and fixed connectivity services together in one place. Guest: Mark Burton, health and social care lead at Virgin Media O2 Business