Digital innovation has an important role in the future of healthcare and supporting its introduction to address real problems in the NHS is one of UCLPartners’ core aims. To share ideas, encourage debate and engage with future doctors on digital health, UCLPartners brought together colleagues from across the partnership with industry experts at an educational event this week.

Representatives from Care City, DigitalHealth.London, the NHS Innovation Accelerator and NHS England’s Clinical Entrepreneurs programme gave insights and advice on what they would do if they were starting out in the world of digital health. Tips included the need to understand what people want (define the problem), look at the evidence and build a strong business case.

Examples were given from the partnership of truly innovative approaches to improving care and efficiency through technology. These included the Streams app for acute kidney injury and augmented reality in surgery at the Royal Free; using big data at Barnet Hospital; and Your Whit - an approach to service improvement at the Whittington Hospital. 

The final session focused on the importance of having reliable data to ensure that people are treated to the highest standards, with thoughts on creating an infrastructure that delivers the right information at the right time and to build trust with patients and the public. 

To close the event, Molly Watt, one of our speakers and self-confessed digital evangelist with Usher syndrome, gave her reflections on the day: “Going forward, I’d like to think that digital in healthcare helps everyone – professionals and patients alike – ensuring they feel more included and more aware. Today has proved we’re moving in the right direction.”

Visit our website for more information or view the discussion around #UCLPDigital here