Integration key to removing friction and promoting digital inclusion – Payne

Group product and engineering director at The Access Group Alan Payne, told Rewired attendees that integration is crucial for removing friction from the care system and promoting digital inclusion by design.

Speaking in the opening keynote session on the Integrated Care Stage on day two of Rewired24, Payne focused on promoting inclusion and ensuring people are heavily involved in their care.

“As digital leaders, it’s vital that we use tech to get people more engaged in their care and promote digital equity and inclusion,” he said. “We believe that integration is the key to removing friction from the care system and promoting digital inclusion by design.”

Payne also stressed that “placing the patient needs central to any solution is crucial” as “by placing the person at the centre of their care we can focus on prevention and ensure they are more involved in their care”.

Age UK’S Digital Champion Programme

The session began with Age UK CEO Paul Farmer presenting the Digital Champion Programme, which aims to reach 96,000 people through digital awareness raising activities to help older people understand the benefits of being online and build self-efficacy.

The programme involves recruiting and training 480 volunteer digital champions to support 12,000 older people to access digital support sessions to develop their digital skills and confidence.

In cohort 1, 25 Age UKs/Cymrus delivered the programme between June 2022 and November 2023, where 63,477 older people were reached through digital awareness raising activities, Farmer said.

“This is a journey we are encouraging people to go on,” he added. “We still need designers to think about digital inclusion,” Farmer made clear, but “the conversation is beginning to shift from exclusion to inclusion”.

Ultimately, the system must bring older people along on the journey and work with them, the Age UK CEO concluded: “The healthcare system must work arm in arm with older people to improve digital confidence.”

Payne and Farmer were also joined on stage by Matthew Boazman, CEO at Birmingham, Women’s and Children’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, who focused on the idea that “co-production has to be at the heart” of everything in order to reduce digital poverty.

Digital Health Rewired is taking place at the NEC in Birmingham 12-13 March. The programme is available here.