Going digital

What was delivered in 2022-23? 

• We strengthened our commitment to the MedTech funding mandate (MTFM), helping to accelerate the uptake of innovative medical devices, diagnostics and digital products, so that patients benefit faster.
• Our health inequalities work focused on improving access to health care environments and treatment pathways, as well as reducing barriers to technology which can result in digital exclusion.
• We developed and launched our Digital Resources Hub, supporting innovators, researchers, health and care staff, and AHSN teams on their innovation journey.

^{Architectural drawing of the new St Clements Surgery in Winchester. Image courtesy of Assura}

• We supported the St Clements Partnership project, helping the Hampshire-based practice to secure funding for a new building, which will focus on using digital technologies to enhance patient care and support new ways of working.
  
• We continued our collaboration with the NIHR ARC Wessex to deliver the NHS Insights Prioritisation Programme (NIPP 2), which aims to understand the impact of innovations for the digital remote monitoring of deterioration, particularly in those living with frailty.
• We delivered a rapid evaluation of a virtual ward programme, providing timely information about the implementation and impact of this new model of care.
• A collaboration between our Industry team’s cancer innovation programme and our health inequalities programme supported the Dorset Cancer Partnership to secure funding to pilot a digital clinical decision system. The platform helps primary care clinicians to identify and appropriately refer patients displaying signs of colorectal cancer, and track the uptake of faecal immunochemical tests (FIT) to detect colorectal cancer earlier in rural and coastal communities.
• We reported key findings and made recommendations to commissioners and providers on three primary care digital demonstrators: long Covid services, virtual wards, and cultural intelligence and inclusivity training.
• We collaborated with Dorset Integrated Care System (ICS) to specify an evaluation programme for their ‘Digital Access to Services at Home’ programme.
• We worked with Hampshire and Isle of Wight ICB to evaluate a platform that digitises a deterioration decision-making support tool known as RESTORE2.
• We supported the development of the Wessex Secure Data Environment (SDE), a secure and publicly trusted learning health system using health data for research.
• We met with NHS England’s Digital Medicines Lead to discuss how electronic repeat dispensing (eRD) could be supported by the NHS App.
• We continued to drive digital transformation, supporting health innovation company, xim Limited, and HIOW Integrated Care System (ICS) to deliver a community-based blood pressure checking service using an innovation called Lifelight, which allows smartphone or tablet devices to measure blood pressure, pulse and breathing rate simply by looking into the camera for 40 seconds.