TECHNOLOGY
“ AS WELL AS GENUINELY SOLVING A PROBLEM , [ THE ] TECH MUST BE SOMETHING THAT CAN BE ADOPTED INTO CLINICAL PRACTICE ”
JOOP TANIS DIRECTOR OF MEDTECH CONSULTING , HEE product has no impact . " When I talk to technology innovators , they are quite rightly very enthusiastic about what their product or new technology can do , that ' s what they ' re passionate about , and I completely understand that . But often , the person using the product is not that interested in the technology . All they ' re interested in is whether it helps them deliver better care , more efficiently ."
" As well as genuinely solving a problem , [ the ] tech must be something that can be adopted into clinical practice ", Tanis adds .
This is where health economics comes in , which has proven to be crucial to ensuring the maximum benefits are gained from a new product . " If you ' re developing a product that would make a real difference but is simply unaffordable , you need to adjust the specification or the production so that when you get to the point of sale , it will actually have commercial viability ", Tanis explains .
Another key area is how the technology will be rolled out . " You need to understand the environment in which it needs to be adopted ", Tanis says . " We do a number of product evaluations where we look at a product being adopted by an organisation and what the learning points are , how it changes clinical practice and also how it changes operational practice ."
In 2019 the NHS Long Term Plan was published , setting out the priorities for the health services over the following ten years — a crucial part of which is the digitisation of services . " Supporting integration of health and care services is critical ", Blackwood says . " We saw the benefits of trusts collaborating across larger geographies during COVID-19 , but vertical integration is desperately needed too , and digital technologies can be the enabler here . Also , AI technologies to stratify and case find in the community will enable the prevention and early diagnosis of diseases , saving lives as well as NHS time and resources ." Tanis says that there has never been a better time for healthcare innovation . " History tells us that we very quickly go back to our old ways , simply because the need to do something differently has gone away ."
" We were definitely running out of runway to match what was expected of us to what we could afford and what we could deliver within the capacity of the current workforce and infrastructure . This last year has really focused us on that and moved us along in terms of the willingness to make changes . We should use the time we have right now to transform the way we deliver healthcare permanently ."
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