The integration of technology into health services is something we’re gradually beginning to see more and more of every day, and Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Matt Hancock’s recent speech was an encouraging push to the forefront of the issue of adoption. Every partnership we’ve built has started with one key person who has fought the case for the need to bring new technology to the front-lines of patient care within their organisation. My hope is that, with the Secretary of State’s talk of incentivising adoption to reward a tech-forward culture, we will indeed begin to see more and more “digital leaders on every board” alongside an increasing uptake of digitisation, AI and ML into the workings of every department.
His focus on the need for substantial cultural change to ensure that digital transformation really begins to take off within the NHS is something I myself have seen time and time again. Throwing a new platform or algorithm at the problem is certainly not enough to create and sustain change, and one of the key points clients raise is the need to ensure that the team on the ground are fully able to make the best use of any new tech, as well as having full ownership of it. Understanding what is being done and why is crucial, and as the Secretary of State discusses, this goes beyond just the IT department, relying on the full engagement of clinicians and the healthcare teams themselves. It is therefore always of upmost importance to us as a company that we deploy a team to support and train our partners in extracting the full potential from our modules, establishing day-to-day and lasting changes. Indeed, one of our most successful platforms in providing real world improvements within NHS trusts is one co-designed by clinicians, for clinicians; something I believe sets the stage for further future involvement and collaboration between digital firms and healthcare teams.
Orlando Agrippa, CEO of Draper and Dash