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Discussion: What are the main challenges in healthcare tech?

In the first of a two part series we asked the HTN audience via LinkedIn for their views on the main challenges in healthcare technology and we asked if there is progress to be made, what could be done to address these challenges?

Following a post on LinkedIn on Saturday, 10th August we received a fantastic response in just a few hours, with some very insightful and interesting perspectives from across health and care.

In this article we share some of the comments, and also invite you to contribute to the ongoing discussion. You can contribute to the LinkedIn discussion thread here or you can email your views to press@thehtn.co.uk before 20th August, when part two of the series will be published.

Comments included: 

Umesh Prabhu, Medical Director of NHS for more than 15 years (Bury NHS Trust 1998-2003 and Wigan ( 2010 -2017)

Important challenge is Culture, 2 Increasing demand, 3 shortage of workforce, 4 Working in silos, 5 fear of blame bullying and litigation complaints, 6 Too many regulation and bureacracy, 7 Poor teamwork, 8 Poor digitalisation. Mosty Poor leadership and management Culture.

David Waller, Director, Keldale Business Services

We can’t / won’t apply health economics to our health IT. We don’t understand its comparative value against alternative investments so we don’t pick the right things in the first place, implement them with the necessary sense of urgency or manage them in service to get the most out of them.  What can we do? CXOs can talk seriously about strategy and benefits at the start. And spend some time talking to someone who can explain what a ‘benefit’ actually is.

Graham Evans, Chief Digital Officer / Chief Information and Technology Officer, North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust

Key challenges include; (a) getting the basics right, i.e. essential infrastructure, security by design etc. (b) Leadership, technology not seen as a cost, but a strategic investment, a difficult argument when funding is stretched. (c) technology on its own will not enable and deliver the healthcare transformation we need, people and process (including cultural aspects) to be an integral part of the implementation methodology. (d) we need to stop reinventing the wheel, share and learn from others to speed up delivery. Other than that, not much to do really!