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  

📲 Health interventions based on mobile phone or tablet apps are promising tools to help patients manage their conditions more effectively. Evidence from randomised controlled trials (RCTs) on efficacy and effectiveness of such interventions is increasingly available. A recent Nature umbrella review looked at mapping and narratively summarizing published systematic reviews on efficacy and effectiveness of mobile app-based health interventions within patient populations.   

🏢 Across the country, integrated care systems (ICSs) are working in partnership with housing providers to provide high quality mental health care. To support systems in these strategic partnerships, NHS England have been working with the National Housing Federation and the Care Provider Alliance (CPA) to support its next ICS Learning Network session on ‘Supported housing and mental health: a core role for ICSs‘. 

🧘 Patients are taking simple steps before surgery or treatment to improve fitness, diet and mental health thanks to an award-winning partnership approach between the NHS, local authorities and voluntary sector in the North East and North Cumbria as evidence shows it plays a crucial role in helping patients to recover more quickly and reduces their chances of being re-admitted to hospital. 

💊 Scientists at Klick Applied Sciences have created an AI framework that can rapidly identify new use cases for existing therapeutics, according to findings presented Friday at the NeurIPS conference that could greatly improve the drug repurposing process and transform the pharmaceutical industry. The team debuted their algorithm, called LOVENet, a Large Optimized Vector Embeddings Network which integrates two cutting-edge AI technologies: large language model (LLM), and structured knowledge graph technology, which mathematically represents the relationships between drugs and diseases to offer a fresh perspective on new potential therapeutic applications. 

💻 Zyter|TruCare, a healthcare technology solutions provider, announced the launch of TruCare Mobile, the cornerstone of its 10.2 Release. This development marks a significant step in Population Health Management, emphasizing the company’s commitment to reshaping the landscape of digital healthcare and advancing value-based care. The 10.2 Release, complemented by software enhancements, affirms Zyter|TruCare’s dedication to transformative change in Population Health Management. 

❓ Did you know that? 

A roughly 400-person survey from publishing company Wiley shows the increasing use of AI in mental health care. When asked about the resources practitioners were using to cope with increased demand for mental health care, generative AI was the fourth most frequently cited. In addition, 55% of practitioners surveyed said they had used generative AI in their practices. The majority of those said they’d used ChatGPT, the tool developed by OpenAI.  

📖 What we’re reading 

The waiting list for elective care in England has now reached 7.7 million. Behind these numbers are people anxious for a diagnosis, patients in avoidable pain and lives put on hold. Reducing the number waiting is a top priority for government and the health service alike. This long read from the Health Foundation analyses the prospects of reducing the waiting list by the end of 2024 and assesses the impact of further industrial action on the size of the waiting list. It incorporates an interactive waiting list calculator that will allow you to explore what could happen to the waiting list in a range of different plausible scenarios.   

🚨 This week’s events 

23-24 December, Westminster Abbey, London – Festival of Lessons & Carols