Digital Health in the NHS

The digital response to the pandemic showed that clear priorities, good service design and an architectural roadmap are crucial to success. Services such as the NHS app and the vaccination booking service were only successful because of a new way of digital programme delivery. Mark Reynolds calls out that these techniques are essential to the future of digital health. If you want a primer on delivering successful digital services, read on.
Ben Davison, Director, Axiologik

The NHS has achieved a lot since the first computers in the 60s and 70s. Digital Health in the NHS rightly draws attention to what went well and where mistakes happened. We learn from the past to avoid the same pitfalls in the future. The book is vital for anyone managing or leading digital health.
James Hawkins, CDIO York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

The unsung hero of the pandemic was digital communications. Services like NHSmail meant teams could collaborate across the country, all from their own home. In the future, building communication networks will be crucial to digital transformation and the spread of innovation. Digital Health in the NHS explains how multi-disciplinary teams can overcome significant challenges, including net zero, addressing health inequalities, and digital workforce challenges. It is a great read.
Scott Thornton, Senior Manager - Healthcare Solutions, BT

COVID-19 changed everything. Overnight, the country pivoted to fight the virus. Technology and data were essential for the NHS response, enabling everything from shielding to vaccinations. Digital health professionals worked in multi-disciplinary teams, responding in weeks, not years. The NHS measured success by the immediate impact on patients, not the promise of future benefits. During the pandemic, digital health saved lives.

Digital health played its part because of investments in previous decades. It used IT systems created by the National Programme for IT and data gathered due to the Power Of Information strategy. Understanding the history of digital health gives an insight into the future.

The NHS has a challenging decade ahead of it. It needs to resolve the backlog and recover from the pandemic. It must address long-term problems, including health inequalities, an ageing population, and net zero. Digital health will make a difference. This book explains how.

• Digital Health 101 is a primer for digital health, giving an overview of key areas, including standards, interoperability, and data.

• Real-World Examples are case studies from the COVID-19 response, including shielding and vaccination programmes.

• Challenges and Opportunities examine the problems facing digital health, such as getting to net zero and developing people and skills.

• Prepare for the Future outlines techniques to help the NHS transform, such as digital delivery and enterprise architecture.

• Final Thoughts describes a vision of the future and, looking back, what it took to get there.