Welcome to our latest news in brief, where we take a look at some of the health tech news stories to have caught our eye over the last few weeks.
Royal Orthopaedic Hospital signs new EPR contract
The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has shared that it has signed a contract with InterSystems for the implementation of a EPR system, in what it refers to as “a major milestone” in the trust’s digital transformation journey.
The trust is to work with InterSystems to design the system to progressively replace paper-based notes and separate databases with “secure, integrated, accessible digital records”. Implementation planning is now underway and the programme is set to begin in 2026.
Moorfields and UCL partner on new Centre for Eye Health as part of New Hospital Programme
Moorfields Eye Hospital, UCL, and the Moorfields Eye Charity have partnered to launch the Moorfields and UCL Centre for Eye Health in St Pancras, London, as part of the New Hospital Programme. Bringing clinicians and researchers together under one roof, the centre is expected to deliver high quality eye care, research, and education. Facilities include “modern spaces” to facilitate innovation between clinicians and researchers, dedicated wellbeing spaces, and a garden roof terrace with views across London.
Services currently being provided at Moorfields’ City Road location will move to the new centre from 2027, and the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology is also set to relocate. Peter Ridley, Moorfields chief executive, said: “I am delighted to announce the name of our new centre for eye care, research, and education. Moorfields and UCL Centre for Eye Health will be a place for high quality care for our patients and world-leading innovation in the field of ophthalmic research. I could not be prouder of the work of all our staff and stakeholders who helped make this centre a reality.”
Digital podiatry service at Derbyshire Community Health Services
The community podiatry team at Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Foundation Trust has announced that it has launched a fully digital self-referral system, allowing patients and clinicians to complete referrals digitally by July 2026. Paper forms will be phased out over a three-month transition period as referrals move to SystmConnect, with an online questionnaire offering a structured assessment of foot health concerns.
The system works from a clinical priority matrix to assign patients a priority level from “urgent”, “priority”, or “routine”, to “group education session”, or “not eligible for NHS treatment”. Support is available for those unable to complete the online form for themselves, and GPs can continue to submit paper referrals.
Swansea Bay University Health Board renews contract for maintenance of renal unit EPR
Swansea Bay University Health Board has taken the decision to renew its contract with VitalPulse LTD for ongoing maintenance of its VitalData EPR. The contract, for £71,985, covers what is described as a “fully bespoke support service” for the EPR, including database maintenance, system support, and upkeep associated with interfaces supporting connectivity to NHS Wales systems including LIMS. Contract dates are given as 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027. To read the contract award notice in full, please click here.
AWS launches Amazon Connect Health Agentic AI solution
AWS has launched Amazon Connect Health, an Agentic AI solution capable of handling high-volume admin tasks including appointment management, patient verification, and clinical documentation, to help reduce the administrative burden in healthcare and drive patient engagement. Reportedly offering 24/7 patient access and functionality for reporting and analytics, the solution incorporates conversational patient identity verification along with real-time EHR integration, and natural language voice scheduling for appointment management to allow patients to book, reschedule, or cancel their appointments.
For suppliers, Amazon Connect Health’s point of care capabilities can be integrated directly on a modular basis into existing workflows using a unified SDK. These cover patient insights, surfacing visit-specific insights such as patient summaries and health events from patient records; ambient documentation, formatted into existing EHR templates; and medical coding, generating ICD-10 and CPT codes from clinical notes with accompanying confidence scores.
