Health Management and Policy Alert

Digital boards: tackling digital inclusion means designing services that meet all your users’ needs

NHS Providers - 

The acceleration of digital ways of working during the pandemic has seen digital inclusion rise up the board agenda. Board leaders need a shared understanding of what digital inclusion means and clarity on their priorities for action. This briefing defines digital inclusion and highlights practical tips.

• Briefing
• More detail

Direct-to-consumer genomic testing

House of Commons Science and Technology Committee - 

The popularity of genomics tests sold directly to consumers has increased in recent years, with products focusing on ancestry, health outcomes and genetic traits. This report urges policymakers to seize opportunities and address risks posed by the increasing availability and scope of consumer genomic testing, making a number of recommendations for the government to consider when updating regulations.

• Report
• Press release

Locked out: digitally excluded people’s experiences of remote GP appointments

Healthwatch England -
This report investigates the barriers to accessing digital and remote care, drawing on the experiences of people who experienced digital exclusion during the pandemic. This included older people, people with disabilities, and people with limited English. It finds that people can be digitally excluded for various reasons including digital skill level, affordability of technology, disabilities, or language barriers. The report suggests the need for a programme of investment in digital literacy and online access while emphasising the importance of maintaining face-to-face methods to ensure no one falls through the gaps.

• Report
• Healthwatch England - news

The protection of personal data in health information systems: principles and processes for public health

World Health Organization (WHO) - 

Public health institutions are increasingly required to balance fundamental rights and data protection principles. To address this, WHO Europe has released these easy-to-implement steps to allow any organisation in public health to increase its level of data protection compliance.

• Guidelines
• Press release

The future role of remote consultations & patient ‘triage’

Royal College of General Practitioners - 

A key challenge for UK governments and health systems will be to build upon the potential benefits that have emerged from technology advances and new ways of working during the Covid-19 pandemic, while ensuring that relational care and health inequalities do not suffer in the longer-term. This will only be possible with further evaluation, action and government investment. This paper sets out the challenges which need to be addressed to ensure GPs and practice teams can continue to provide high-quality patient care as we look towards a ‘new normal’.

• Report
• Press release

10 practical lessons for implementing digital innovations: learning from the Care City test bed

Nuffield Trust - 

Digital health innovations are often seen as 'ready made' solutions to challenges facing health and care systems but despite their potential, implementing these technologies can be complex. This summary highlights ten lessons for those working to integrate technology into health and social care services. The findings are based on a large-scale evaluation of digital technologies being implemented in health and social care in East London.

• Summary
• More detail
• Full report

Why do people abandon assistive technologies? Research suggests users need to be partners in design

National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) - 
Many people with long term - chronic - conditions need a lot of support in their daily lives. A wide range of assistive technologies are designed to help, including wheelchairs, hearing aids, and electronic devices. But people often give up using them. This briefing summarises the findings of research that explored the main barriers that people experienced when using assistive technologies.

• Briefing

Research for Parliament 2021

Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) - 
This publication presents a horizon scan of 30 areas of change to help the UK Parliament prepare for the future. Amongst the wide range of issues explored are mental health and wellbeing in the context of Covid-19, health inequalities and the use of digital technologies in the delivery of health care.

• Reports

IGNITE Summit 2020: learnings from the Covid-19 pandemic to accelerate medical innovation

Northern Health Science Alliance - 

This report, published following the IGNITE Summit 2020 (a medical innovation summit), sets out a series of “key game changers” to help build a resilient, prosperous and pioneering world-leading health innovation system. The summit brought together a diverse group of leaders from across the country, and internationally, to focus on what the pandemic has taught us and how we can use that learning to optimise the UK’s medical innovation system moving forward.

• Report
• More detail

NHS Covid-19 app : early adopter evaluation report

Department of Health and Social Care - 

An NHS Covid-19 app was developed in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The NHS Covid-19 app has been trialled in the London Borough of Newham, the Isle of Wight (IoW) and among NHS Volunteer Responders. This trial period is referred to as the early adopter phase. The NHS Covid-19 app programme commissioned a formal evaluation to ascertain perceptions of the NHS Covid-19 app and (intended) usage of its features during the early adopter phase.

• Report
• More detail