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

🤖 Around 40,000 frontline workers across 76 NHS trusts are now able to access to a new ‘AI assistant’ tool through a partnership between AI company Corti and technology company BigHand. The Corti AI assistant is a browser-based app that automates tasks like note-taking and documentation, cutting down admin time so staff can dedicate more time to patient care. According to the companies, the app can reduce admin time by up to 80% and reduce margins of error by up to 40%.

🔬Pharmaceutical company Bayer has partnered with health tech startup Impli to develop a real-time hormone monitoring device. The partnership will focus on early-stage research and exploring different use cases for hormone monitoring, providing Impli with access to Bayer’s technology ecosystem. It comes after Impli won Bayer-sponsored innovation challenge at this year’s HLTH Europe conference in Amsterdam.

💰The National Institute for Health and Care Research has awarded £686,546 to The Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust to upgrade and expand research facilities across the trust. The money, which will be spent between now and March 2027, will be used to fund a clinical trials pharmacy at Chase Farm Hospital for oral and IV drug studies, as well as radiotherapy equipment and a new electrical impedance tomography imaging system, which will be housed at the Royal Free Hospital.

🔬 Scientists at Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust are taking part in a national trial to develop new metagenomics technology for diagnosing serious respiratory infections like pneumonia and bronchitis. Led by Guy’s and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust, the trial aims to speed up the identification of infection-causing pathogens, with results available in a few hours instead of days. The research could provide quicker, targeted treatments for critically ill patients. If successful, the technology could be widely available as soon as 2025.

🖥️ NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde is seeking patient feedback on the use of virtual consultations, including those conducted via phone or the Near Me video platform. The health board says it wants to improve access to care and enhance its virtual services, ensuring they meet patients’ needs. Feedback will help refine the information provided to patients and improve their experiences with virtual services. The survey, which takes 5-10 minutes to complete, is available here.

❓Did you know?

The NHS waiting list for starting elective care rose slightly to 7.64 million in August 2024, up from 7.62 million in July, according to the latest figures from Nuffield Trust’s NHS performance tracker.

Of these, 6.33 million patients were waiting for a single elective treatment – down slightly from the previous month. Meanwhile, the number of patients waiting over 65 weeks for treatment dropped by more than 5,000 to 45,500, aligning with a revised target to reduce waits by September 2024.

However, the number of people waiting over 52 weeks remained high at 283,000, despite a 7,700 decrease since July. Diagnostic test delays worsened, with 24% of patients waiting over six weeks, missing the 1% target.

📖 What we’re reading

‘Looking Beyond UK Budget 2024: Priority Reforms for 2025‘, published by The Tony Blair Institute for Global Change on 23 October, highlights opportunities for critical digital upgrades in the UK’s public services as the Autumn Budget approaches.

The report advocates for the use of AI and other digital tools to increase efficiency and productivity, suggesting an annual investment of £6 billion to achieve significant long-term savings.

It estimates that investing in AI could save up to £12 billion per year by the end of this parliament, with additional savings further down the line.

The authors claim that the government could increase employment in healthcare by 70,000 people and generate £600 million in savings by investing in digitally-enabled solutions designed to improve the health of the population and prevent long-term illness.

🚨Upcoming events

5-6 November 2024, Reading, UK – EHRcon24