The recent £3.4bn investment in NHS IT has been hailed as a vote of confidence in digital leaders, but also raises complex questions about digitisation and its impact, according to speakers at Digital Health Rewired 2024.
Vin Diwaker, interim transformation director at NHS England, described the investment as a significant boost that reflects trust in healthcare digitisation professionals. However, Matthew Taylor, CEO of the NHS Confederation, cautioned that the promise of funding needs to be considered in the context of potential changes in government.
The funding is part of a government initiative to enhance productivity in the public sector. Yet, measuring the efficiency gains from technologies like EPRs remains a challenge due to the time required for implementation, as noted by industry experts at the event.
Jessica Morley, from Yale University’s Digital Ethics Center, raised important ethical concerns about the use of digital healthcare investments. She highlighted the need for updated data laws and governance frameworks to ensure that technological advancements align with ethical standards in healthcare.
