NIHR HealthTech Research Centre Mental Health (MindTech) have recently been acknowledged for their role in informing the Association of British HealthTech Industries (ABHI) new “Apps and Wearables Strategy” alongside the wider NIHR HealthTech Research Centre Network.
The strategy sets out a roadmap to address the challenge of too many proven technologies struggling to move beyond the pilot stage into approved use within the NHS.
The plan sets out four key recommendations focused on:
The strategy aligns with the broader NHS 10-Year Health Plan, encouraging a shift in healthcare from analogue to digital.
Representatives from each of the 14 HealthTech Research Centres attended a workshop with ABHI and provided insights from across clinical, research, evaluation and implementation perspectives.
Dr Jake Andrews, Industry Lead for MindTech, said “Our work in MindTech has shown that apps and wearables could help patients to self-manage conditions, better connect with clinical teams, or simply measure symptoms of a condition to inform care. However, there are systemic factors in the NHS which make it difficult for the companies who develop these technologies to work with the NHS and ensure that care pathways are set up to make the best use of the data from these technologies. The recommendations from this report could help both industry and the NHS in England to make changes that support use in practice.”
The ABHI acknowledged the support of the HRC Network, saying: “Their multidisciplinary expertise provided important challenge and depth to the strategy’s findings and recommendations.
Their input helped ensure that the strategy reflects both the practical experience of industry and the requirements of responsible, evidence based NHS adoption.”
Read the full "App and Wearables Strategy"