BTS Health Digest #63 - Reflections from The Annual Healthcare Technology Show and Exhibition 2025.

Picture from IGPP Website

The 2025 edition of the Annual Healthcare Technology Show organised by the Institute of Government and Public Policy was held in Salford, Manchester. and it was a great opportunity to hear from various industry leaders, their insights on digital transformation in the NHS especially due to the vast array of technological advancements in healthcare offering opportunities to improve patient care and healthcare delivery.

During the event, I had the opportunity to sit through various panel sessions and presentations, and key themes covered included digital transformation, workforce improvement, data integration and the promotion of innovation among others. It was exciting to listen to case studies and get first-hand information of what worked and what did not work for various projects.

As an innovation enthusiast, some sessions stood out for me. Top of the list was the presentation by Chris Chaney, CEO, CW+ (Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust) who delivered a presentation titled Scaling Innovation Across Cheslsea and Westminster to Transform Patient Outcomes. Key takeaways for me were the importance of co-creation of digital solutions which improved adoption and how the CW Innovation model actually helps bring together various stakeholders in the ecosystem to test and scale interventions. I look forward to seeing this model deployed across the UK in other Trusts.

The session by Oliver Lake, the Chief Executive of PRSB or the Professional Records and Standards Body, was important to me as spoke on the importance of collaboration and data sharing in order to advance healthcare standards. I first came to known about PRSB when I was implementing a Digital Dictation system across two NHS Trusts, and there was a need to standardize tons of documents produced by the Trusts. It was during that project that I truly understood the impact of the work done by PRSB.

According to Oliver, it is hard to implement standards, it is hard to get everyone to agree, getting suppliers on board, look at procurement and finally working with clinical teams to implement. One important takeaway: High Quality Data is the golden thread of the healthcare system.

Joanne Bekis of Digital4Health UK shared the unique perspective they bring to the digital health ecosystem through being a catalyst for digital transformation with presence in 30 countries, 60 cities and 5 continents. Cyber security was not left out of the conversation as Izak Oosthuizen who the co-founder of Cyber London spoke extensively on how Extended Detection and Response can unify and streamline threat detection in healthcare IT environments. For me, his session reinforced the importance of cyber resilience of Trusts as they continue to embrace new technologies for healthcare delivery. We do not want repeats of more cyber attacks like the Synnovis incident.

Primary care was not left out as Dr. Shanker Vijay led the session on Automation/ AI in Primary Care. It was critical that primary care was no left out of the conversation as we can see a lot of activity in primary care around digital transformation e.g. roll out of AI scribes in GP practices by Tandem Health and the implementation of Medicus.

I left the conference refreshed and optimistic about the future of digital health in the UK. Looking forward to the next edition. Sadly, I forgot to take pictures, and I met a lot of amazing people doing great stuff in the NHS.

Key Takeaways.

1. Co-Creation Drives Innovation Adoption
   Chris Chaney’s presentation on CW+ highlighted the value of co-creating digital health solutions with end-users to ensure better adoption, showcasing a scalable innovation model that could be adopted by other NHS Trusts.

2. Standardisation is Crucial, but Challenging
   Oliver Lake from PRSB emphasized the complexity of implementing data standards across organisations, vendors, and clinical teams—but reaffirmed that high-quality, standardised data is the "golden thread" connecting effective healthcare systems.

3. Cyber Resilience Must Be a Priority
   Izak Oosthuizen from Cyber London raised awareness of the growing threat landscape and advocated for Extended Detection and Response (XDR) solutions to strengthen cybersecurity in healthcare, especially in light of recent breaches like the Synnovis incident.

4. Primary Care Cannot Be Left Behind
   Dr. Shanker Vijay’s session on AI and automation in primary care, including tools like Tandem Health’s AI scribes and Medicus, showcased how digital transformation must extend beyond hospitals into frontline services.

5. Global Perspectives Enhance Local Innovation
   Digital4Health UK’s impact across 30 countries underscores how global collaboration and perspective can catalyse digital transformation within local NHS ecosystems.

6. Real-World Case Studies Offer Valuable Lessons
   Across various sessions, real-world examples of what worked (and what didn’t) in NHS digital projects provided honest, practical insights that will inform your ongoing digital transformation efforts.

Till the next episode,

Cheers.

Dr. Ron

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