Catherine Davies
Director, Digital Healthcare Council
Learn how digital providers support the NHS at all points of the patient journey.
If the Government is serious about reform and the health of the NHS, then digital providers must be at the heart of their plans.
Let doctors be doctors
In 2023 there were 353 million appointments in primary care1 but less than 60% of GPs’ time was spent on patient care.2 Scaling digital services will allow doctors to be doctors. More than 400 GPs already work with Livi, Europe’s leading digital-first healthcare provider, providing appointments to over 8 million people in the UK.
Similarly, Holly Health is easing the pressure on GPs with personalised digital solutions for multi-morbid patients, utilising coaching and behaviour change. Providing online assessments to prescribe and deliver medication online, Dr Fox Pharmacy supports primary care and the busy high street pharmacy sector.
Improving hospital services
NHS hospitals face pressure in their Emergency Departments, bed shortages and poor patient flow. Innovators like TeleTracking are helping reduce waiting times, giving clinicians more time to care for patients and increasing bed availability. As the wider NHS wrestles with waiting lists, HBSUK is using insourcing, a tech-enabled single point of access outpatient service, and ‘blended’ online and in-person pathways to support Trusts.
Remote healthcare is crucial to older
people maintaining independence.
Maintaining independence
Remote healthcare is crucial to older people maintaining independence. Lili’s remote monitoring technology spots ‘small soft signs’ allowing carers to act before a decline in health. HealthNet Homecare’s clinical homecare provides specialist medicines which patients can administer at home with support and training from HealthNet nurses. Its digital solutions also ease the time burden on NHS clinicians.
Preventx’s in-house laboratory provides high-quality sexual health and blood tests to the NHS, a capacity that improves efficiency. Their self-testing model means quicker results and less pressure on health services.
Inertia is keeping the country sick
Digital services already help patients and save clinicians’ time. The right support and leadership are crucial to accelerate these innovations and transform healthcare for the better.
[1] Kings Fund, Key general practice statistics and insights, June 2024.
[2] The future of general practice, House of Commons Committee report, Fourth Report of Session 2022–23.
