TFH #012: Homes turned into virtual hospitals, the ICS has landed, tackling social inequalities, new burden of proof for digital health and more.
Homes turned into ‘virtual hospitals’ - The drive for virtual wards is central to the 42 new local “integrated care systems” formed across England yesterday in the biggest restructuring of the NHS for a decade. In total £450 million has been given to these systems to create 500 virtual ward beds each “as fast as practicable” so that about 25,000 are available across England by December next year.
What are Integrated Care Systems (ICS) - After years of planning, Integrated Care Systems arrived last week. In short, it involves integrating health and social care so that health services are available when people need them and social care support is there for those who can't manage alone. Here’s a quick summary.
NHS Digital and Data - An essential Digital and Data reading list for everyone working with the NHS. From AI, Data to Medical Device regulation and everything in between.
This is a must-read for the Digital Health community - The UK Governments’ plan for digital health and social care. The four keys areas of focus of the plan are:
1. Equipping the system digitally for better care, 2. Supporting independent healthy lives, 3. Accelerating adoption of proven tech and 4. Aligning oversight with accelerating digital transformation.
NHS England ‘set to eliminate two-year waiting lists’ by July - NHS England is poised to “virtually eliminate” the list of those who have waited more than two years for treatment, its chief executive has said, as patients are given the option to be treated more quickly at hospitals in different parts of the country.
How can the NHS tackle health and social inequalities? - Equity is at the core of the NHS’ founding principles. So why, 74 years after its creation, do people experience unequal health outcomes?
Employee wellbeing is the new workplace imperative - Wellbeing and engagement interact with each other in powerful ways. When employees are engaged and thriving, they experience significantly less stress, anger and health problems. Unfortunately, most employees remain disengaged at work. In fact, low engagement alone costs the global economy $7.8 trillion.
Digital Health’s Burden Of Proof - Now more than ever, digital health companies need to clearly demonstrate their value and prove a real financial ROI to the organizations they’re selling to – showing not only the value to patients and the healthcare system but to the buyer’s bottom line in both the short and long term.
Digital ecosystems: the future of healthcare - Life is rapidly moving from a paper- driven world to a digital one, where nearly every kind of information is stored on a computer, or in the cloud. When applying for a bank account, visiting the doctor or using a smart fitness app to analyse progress, we are providing data at every point. Data is everywhere and is being combined in new and diverse ways to shape how we see and experience the world.
Healthcare leaders and the biggest challenges to digital health adoption - A new C-Suite survey by West Monroe finds that health system leaders looking to establish a digital health strategy are challenged most by attracting and keeping IT talent and understanding how to define digital health.
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