NHS Digital and techUK to address further digital health and social care challenges

NHS Digital and techUK have outlined their view on the future challenges they need to tackle to take their partnership to the next level.

They have agreed six main areas to focus on in 2018. These include working with SMEs enterprises so that they might share in NHS and social care business and continuing to increase interoperability in the sector, building flexibility into technology from the outset.

The jointly agreed priorities for the partnership over the next six months are:

• Working with SMEs: Commit to ensuring the health and social care economy gets full value from small and medium-sized enterprises. Both organisations will work together to ensure SMEs are gaining a share of NHS and social care business. A set of joint commitments will be agreed by both parties.
• Interoperability: Continue to work to promote the exchange of systems and information and build flexibility into technology. NHS Digital will work with industry to ensure compliance with the Government’s Open Standards Principles for software interoperability, data and document formats
• PHC2020 Domain Reviews: Hold a strategic review of each PHC2020 domain to form a common view of the best way to engage with the market at an early stage and seek to establish governance groups per domain as a focus point for joint planning and decision making
• Future tech: Horizon scanning for innovative technologies that can be leveraged by the NHS this includes blockchain and artificial intelligence.
• Cyber Security: Continue to progress with the good work and support the security operation centre procurement.
• Collaborate with wider community: This would include local bodies, trusts, CCG’s, CCIO, AHSNs and other ALB’s.

Other areas of interest include horizon scanning for innovative technologies, supporting the security operation centre procurement to help build on current cyber security work and carrying out a strategic review of NHS Digital’s digital transformation programme.

Julian David, Chief Executive Officer for techUK said: “Our partnership with NHS Digital has already achieved so much, with 25 market engagements, seven consultations, and over 1,500 delegates through the door, but this is only the start.

“Now that we have seen a shift towards a more transparent and collaborative way of working with industry, we look forward to deepening that engagement, working together to deliver better health and care outcomes for the whole country.”

Set up towards the end of 2016, the partnership sought to bring suppliers and the NHS together to tackle the challenges and opportunities that the Government’s digital transformation programme for health and social care presents, so that industry could help influence and create the new technologies that will drive innovation.

An annual review of the partnership’s achievements was completed in November 2017. Successes noted in the review included a number of market engagement events and consultations. These engagements have given industry a clear voice in the public health sector and enabled NHS Digital to benefit from the knowledge and experience that suppliers have to offer, earlier in the process.

The full annual report review can be found here.