Digital Health Coffee Time Briefing ☕

Your morning summary of digital health news, information and events to know about if you want to be “in the know”. 

👇 News 

🚀 NHS Humber Health Partnership has announced the launch of Flow, a transformation project to reduce unnecessary hospital stays and admissions. The multi-year project, which began on 15 July 2024, will use technology with the aim of supporting patients with conditions such as COPD or heart failure in their own homes.

📱 Hobbs rehabilitation centre has piloted a Clera Healthcare service which allows family members of NHS and private patients to receive text messages and status updates without the administrative burden being placed on staff. The tech was used between January 2024 and May 2024, according to a press release.

💰 The Scottish Government has announced it is to invest £8 million in the University of Dundee’s Life Sciences Innovation Hub. According to a press release, the new £40m hub will “anchor new high-growth spin-out companies in Dundee, enhancing the city’s reputation as a global leader in health and life sciences research”. 

🤝 Ultrasound AI software and simulation company, Intelligent Ultrasound Group has entered into a conditional sale and purchase agreement for the sale of its clinical AI business to GE HealthCare for an enterprise value of £40.5m. According to an announcement made on 18 July 2024, the proposed transactions excludes the NeedleTrainer and NeedleTrainer Plus products.

✅ North Bristol Trust Southmead Hospital, University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, and Oxford University NHS Foundation Trust are adding AI-powered diagnostic tool Paige Prostate to their standard of care. This adoption is the next phase of the Oxford-led ARTICULATE PRO study, performed to determine the potential to improve patient outcomes for prostate cancer. 

❓ Did you know? 

One in five nursing and midwifery professionals who left the register last year did so within ten years of joining, according to the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s (NMC) annual report. 

Nursing leaders are calling for urgent action to make nursing a more attractive career, describing the statistic as “deeply alarming”. The report shows that 27,168 staff left the profession between April 2023 and March 2024, a slight decrease from the previous year.

📖 What we’re reading 

The World Health Organisation has released a resource for assessment, strategy development and strengthening of telemedicine services. 

Support Tool To Strengthen Telemedicine, published on 15 July 2024, presents a comprehensive framework designed to streamline telemedicine services within healthcare. The evidence-based tool is for services at different levels from individual facilities through to nationwide health systems.  

🚨 This week’s event 

31 July, virtual event – Digital Futures For Good: Healthcare and Digital Inclusion.