Health Management and Policy Alert

Smart prescribing: harnessing technology in the fight against AMR

Reform - 

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a threat to global health and security. This report examines a critical, but often under-represented area of the UKs approach to AMR – optimising antimicrobial prescribing. It considers how better digital approaches to the problem of AMR could act as a critical exemplar of applying AI-based tools and wearable technology for the betterment of society and asks the question: how can we harness technology to support optimal antimicrobial prescribing behaviours?

• Report
• More detail

What do technology and AI mean for the future of work in health care?

Health Foundation -
Recent developments in artificial intelligence (AI) have sparked fears about the potential threat to jobs in many industries, including health care. Drawing on labour market modelling, this long read analyses what makes health care different from other industries predicted to be more heavily impacted by new technologies.

• Briefing
• Health Foundation - publications

Recording GP appointments: consolidated guidance

NHS England - 

This guidance is to support practices, primary care networks (PCNs) and integrated care boards (ICBs) to ensure that GP appointment data (GPAD) recording is being undertaken accurately locally by consolidating key information together in one place.

• Guidance
• More detail

The NHS waiting list: when will it peak?

Health Foundation - 

This analysis shows that, if current trends continue, the waiting list for routine hospital treatment (‘elective care’) in England could rise to over 8 million by next summer, regardless of whether NHS industrial action continues.

• Analysis 
• Press release

Foundation models in the public sector

Ada Lovelace Institute -
Foundation models are a form of artificial intelligence (AI) designed to produce a wide variety of outputs that are being adopted across various sectors. They are capable of a range of tasks and applications, such as text, image or audio generation. This report outlines the potential of AI in the public sector, as well as the risks. It also explores the principles, regulations and practices necessary to deploy foundation models in the public sector safely, ethically and equitably.

• Ada Lovelace Institute - publications

Interim professional standards for hospital at home, including virtual wards, pharmacy services

Royal Pharmaceutical Society - 
These professional standards for pharmacy services for virtual wards aim to ensure the delivery of high-quality care and optimal outcomes for individuals in the ‘hospital at home’ setting. These standards serve as a practical framework to assure and enhance established hospital-at-home pharmacy services, support the NHS recovery and drive community and urgent and emergency care reforms.

• Standards
• Royal Pharmaceutical Society - news

Data access policy update

Department of Health and Social Care -
In September 2022, government published the 12 policy guidelines for Secure Data Environments. This policy update has been drafted to build on these guidelines, setting out key policy decisions around data access policy made so far. It is intended for a technical audience, such as data controllers, data users and platform providers.

• Policy paper
• Department of Health and Social Care - publications

National Joint Registry 20th annual report 2023: surgical data to 31 December 2022

National Joint Registry (NJR) - 

The National Joint Registry’s purpose is to record patient information and provide data on the performance and longevity of replacement joint implants, the surgical outcomes for the hospitals where these operations are carried out, and on the performance outcomes of the surgeons who conduct the procedures. This annual report summarises the work of NJR and shares analysis of data, visually in tables and graphs, for procedures across each of the joints, as well as implant and hospital.

• Annual report
• More detail

Inclusive digital healthcare: a framework for NHS action on digital inclusion

NHS England -
This document builds on previous NHS Digital guidance on digital inclusion for health and social care. It should be used to help design and implement inclusive digital approaches and technologies, which are complementary to non-digital services and support.

• Framework
• NHS England - publications

Access denied?: socioeconomic inequalities in digital health services

Ada Lovelace Institute -
This report seeks to understand how people who have lived experience of poverty and ongoing health concerns are impacted by health inequalities when interacting with patient-facing digital health services. The findings suggest a need for policymakers, health care leaders, and digital health service designers and developers to reconsider how they use data and how they design and deploy digital health services.

• Report
• Ada Lovelace Institute - publications