Digital Health Coffee Time Briefing ☕ 

Your morning summary of digital health news, information and events to know about if you want to be “in the know”. 

👇 News  

🧑‍💼 Ian Hogan has started a new position as chief information officer at Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. Hogan previously spent nearly four years as chief information officer at the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust.  

🤝 Thriva, the personal diagnostics and health platform, has entered into a two-year partnership with Stella, the trusted online menopause support clinic, coinciding with Menopause Awareness Month. The partnership aims to provide personalised support to individuals experiencing menopause and provide easier access to safe testosterone treatment for women dealing with low libido. 

👩‍🦽 West Midlands-based digital therapeutics software developer Strolll has secured £750,000 from the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF) through the MEIF West Midlands Equity Fund for its digital therapeutics software for Parkinson’s Disease. This funding forms part of a larger £2.1 million seed investment round led by MEIF fund manager Midven, in participation with Martlet Capital, SFC Capital, and multiple angel investors. The funds will allow the company to reach several key milestones, including gathering outcomes data from ongoing studies and NHS pilots, expanding into the US market, and demonstrating the ability to apply the technology beyond Parkinson’s disease to other conditions. Strolll’s patented software is designed for commercially available augmented reality glasses and helps to alleviate gait and balance motor symptoms experienced by a large number of people with Parkinson’s.  

🖥 Generative AI and clinical documentation, behavioural and mental health platforms, care delivery and virtual care platforms and digital therapeutics are the four digital health areas most likely to see consolidation over the next 12 months, according to interviews with health leaders on the sidelines of the HLTH conference last week. 

👴 As the ageing population places growing demands on healthcare systems in the North Sea region, a new European initiative has emerged to alleviate the burden. ACE (Accelerating the homecare innovation ecosystem of the future in the North Sea Region) is pioneering a future where older adults can live safer, independent lives, by accelerating the use of digital solutions for better future homecare. 

❓ Did you know that?  

Three in four NHS administrative workers say that rising hospital wait times have led to a spike in abuse, with 43% having been brought to tears according to new research from DrDoctor. Nearly half of patient-facing, non-medical NHS staff (46%) admit to having experienced some form of abuse in their current role from patients on a weekly basis. 

📖 What we’re reading 

The UK’s chief commercial officer is warning a government contract with Palantir was awarded against public procurement principles after the US spy-tech biz got a toehold in the Homes for Ukraine scheme via a free six-month trial period. Palantir’s approach to the refugee housing scheme closely echoes its tactics in the UK health system, when it began work during the height of the pandemic for a nominal fee of £1. 

🚨 This week’s events 

18 October, The King’s Fund – Population health: an opportunity to transform health and care 

18 October, Digital Health Networks – Webinar: How to maximise success through effective resource management strategies  

20 October, Digital Health Networks – EPR Implementations: Lessons Learned … Don’t do it! But, if you have to, know this …