ABHI’s Need to Know Newsletter: Digital Health

The Digital Adoption Conversation

In recent years, many innovations have been successfully adopted that demonstrate the positive impact of digital health technologies. From virtual wards to the digitisation of messaging, the potential benefits digital adoption offers NHS cost and time efficiencies are immeasurable.?

Technologies like video conferencing, digital health records, and digital messaging tools are the most sought-after in the NHS as they have the most significant impact on medical practitioners' day-to-day workflow and patient care efficiencies. However, the The Health Foundation found that lack of funding and IT training were still the most significant barriers to the adoption of such streamlining technologies.

Initiatives such as the recently proposed NHS England and NICE accelerated route to adoption remain critical to the NHS digitisation journey. This proposal seeks to overcome the funding adoption barrier by fast-tracking NICE-recommended products for NHS funding and use. This would be a huge leap forward in the streamlining of NHS cost, time and resource efficiencies - if it were to go forward.

Another recent study into virtual wards implemented into NHS operations in South East England showed a hugely positive outcome for patients and practitioners and overall resource efficiencies. The research showed a total of ￡10.4 million was saved, and over 9,000 non-elective admissions were avoided by South East England NHS services over the course of the year, highlighting the immense potential of this technology.

It is great to see the positives of virtual ward innovations revealed within NHS trusts, but wider adoption remains elusive, and must be championed to ensure critical innovations are made available to those who need them most.

ABHI Members Spearheading Innovation?

Swansea Bay Hospital's wound care service has moved towards a digital method of prescribing antibiotics to patients with the support of ABHI member and digital health innovator Health.io and its Minuteful for Wound app.

Practitioners have been accurately and consistently assessing wounds virtually, saving staff capacity by reducing home visits and determining prescription needs through digital imaging. Swansea Bay Hospital staff were awarded the Silver Award in the Antimicrobial Stewardship category at the Journal of Wound Care Awards, championing the Minuteful for Wound app's impact on care quality and efficiency.

Additionally, the work Swansea Bay Hospital's team is doing in collaboration with Health.io will be used to train new staff in the future, adding yet another positive impact to the technology’s deployment.

We need to see more process streamlining innovations adopted to improve patient care quality and practice efficiency. ABHI champions innovations and supports initiatives that empower NHS digital transformation and streamline time, cost and clinical practice.

To learn how ABHI can support your digital health business, visit our resource hub or contact