Healthcare
Roundup
 
15 July 2022
 
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Seven days in the NHS and health IT
NHS
NHS on the brink as ambulances declare black alert 
The Health Service Journal revealed on Tuesday that every ambulance service in the country was on the highest level of alert due to extreme pressure from hot weather, surging Covid-19 cases, and a basic mismatch between resources and demand. A source told the website that the situation was “dire for staff and patients”, with ambulances being held outside hospitals for hours. The Independent reported that hospital trusts are also under pressure, with a chief executive saying any additional, heatwave-related demand might force his organisation to cancel elective services. On Thursday, the government was thinking of declaring a level-4 heatwave emergency for the first time (Sky News). 
NHS
Health news: NHS receives George Cross; DHSC appoints patient safety commissioner
The queen has presented the George Cross to the four national health services of the UK, in recognition of their 74 years of service and “exceptional efforts” during the Covid-19 pandemic (NHS England news release). The NHS is the third organisation to receive the honour, after Malta and the Royal Ulster Constabulary. The Department of Health and Social Care has announced the appointment of the first patient safety commissioner for England. Dr Henrietta Hughes, the national guardian for the NHS, will take up the job. The DHSC says she will be a champion for patients and lead drives to improve the safety of medicines and medical devices.
EPR
Specialist orthopaedic hospital signs EPR deal with System C
The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has signed a ten-year contact with System C for an electronic patient record. Digitalhealth.net reports that the EPR will integrate with the trust’s System C electronic prescribing, observations and flow systems, and with partner Bluespier’s theatre management software. It will also be integrated with the One Health and Care shared care record built by Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin integrated care system. One Health and Care is based on technology from System C Care Alliance partner, Graphnet. The project will be part-funded by the Digital Aspirant programme.
EPR
EPR news: Royal Devon completes Epic go-live; Surrey trusts look to learn lessons from Cerner implementation; national EPR usability survey finds varying levels of unhappiness with NHS IT
Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust has gone live with its Epic electronic patient record at its Northern Devon sites. The Health Tech Newspaper reports this means the whole trust is now live with the system and the Epic patient portal, which it calls MY CARE. Meanwhile, the Royal Surrey Foundation NHS Trust and Ashford and St Peter’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust are looking to ‘learn lessons’ from the go-live of their Cerner EPR in May. The Health Service Journal reports the go-live with the system, called Surrey Safe Care, caused data and outpatient issues. Commenters note these are quite common.
 
The NHS Transformation Directorate has been running a survey on the usability of EPRs, working with Ethical Healthcare Consulting and KLAS Research. The Health Tech Newspaper reported this week on a techUK forum to discuss the findings. The survey appears to have discovered what similar, if smaller, surveys have discovered in the past, which is that there is general frustration with NHS IT, particularly among acute EPR users, but wide variation in the satisfaction of staff at different trusts using the same system. Poor infrastructure, interoperability, training, and a lack of ‘ownership’ may partly explain this.  
Health IT
Health Fabric and Sandwell Council secure Healthy Ageing Challenge funding
Health Fabric is preparing to work with Sandwell Council after learning that it has secured support from The Healthy Ageing Challenge, Health Tech World has reported. The company has created an app called Unity that can be used to create health information in many languages and deliver it through an app, with the support of a unique approach to engaging BAME communities. It will work with public health experts from the council and local stakeholders on a two-year project to develop appropriate content and services for people with long-term conditions, as part of the Healthy Sandwell initiative to improve health and wellbeing in the area.
Health IT
Health IT news: NHS England plans single e-commerce system; AccuRx secures Covid-19 vaccination platform deal; Durham Council joins GNCR; System C strengthens relationship with Induction Zesty
NHS England has announced ambitious plans for all NHS organisations to adopt a single e-commerce platform. The Health Service Journal reports that it wants trusts to adopt the Atamis system to manage £30 billion of spending across 80,000 suppliers. NHS England has also signed a £4.7 million contract extension with AccuRx for a software platform to underpin the continued roll-out of Covid-19 vaccinations, PublicTechnology.net reports. Durham County Council has connected into the Great North Care Record health information exchange, the Health Tech Newspaper has reported. Induction has signed a non-exclusive reseller agreement with System C Healthcare for its Induction Zesty product, digitalhealth.net has reported.
AI
AI, bias and healthcare
The pros and cons of the rapid spread of AI/machine learning in healthcare, in the form of automation and decision support tools, has been a topic of interest this week. BMJ Health and Care Informatics published the report of a study looking at gender bias in the Indian Liver Patient Database, which is used to create algorithms to predict liver disease. The study found this bias would show up as an increased risk of misdiagnosis for female patients. The I newspaper website picked up on the study in an article that went on to examine the dangers of medical AI exacerbating existing inequalities.
 
Meanwhile, digitalhealth.net published an opinion piece from David Newey, deputy chief information officer at the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, which examined some potential sources of bias in more detail. Newey looks in particular at ‘temporal bias’ – or the risk of data, assumptions and algorithms going out of date, as information, norms and practice change. Newey argues the government should follow through on its commitment to develop a regulatory framework for the use of AI in the real-world, and that CIOs should form oversight committees to regularly review AI algorithms for applicability and bias. Otherwise, he warns, there is a risk of hard-baking-in inequality and social injustice.
Health tech comms for tough, competitive times
Highland Marketing Blog
The NHS is emerging from the Covid-19 pandemic with limited resources to meet the huge pressure it is under. That’s focusing attention on national targets and upping the stakes for health tech companies with digital solutions to help deliver on them.

At times like this, effective sales, marketing and PR campaigns are essential. Highland Marketing co-founders Mark and Susan Venables have some pointers to offer.
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