The Journal of mHealth Vol 3 Issue 3 (Jun/Jul 2016) | Page 2

Editor's Comments Welcome As the role of data in healthcare grows across just about every aspect of delivery and patient care the need to balance access to that data whilst also maintaining adequate control of privacy continues to be a major issue. Providing patients with access to their data empowers them and allows them to take ownership of their care, which in turn can result in reduced cost and improve the patient experience. Allowing health care professionals access to critical clinical and operational data at the point-of-care improves the delivery of care and drives efficiencies across the system. As new technologies are incorporated into healthcare provision this ‘balancing act’ between the need to provide access for multiple stakeholders across many different systems, whilst maintaining the strict integrity of that data, has become a constant ‘tug-of-war’. In this issue we include a number of expert articles that consider the different perspectives of health data access vs. privacy, and the implications of trying to maintain this balance. Also, in a recent statement the head of NHS England, Simon Stevens, announced the launch of a new programme to fast-track cutting-edge innovations from across the globe to the UK NHS frontline. In a keynote speech, to around 1,000 NHS leaders, he announced that for the first time the UK NHS will provide an explicit national reimbursement route for new MedTech innovations. This coupled with the UK’s existing target of delivering a paperless NHS by 2020, is sending a clear message to the digital health industry that the NHS is open for business. SUPPORTING PATIENTS TO BETTER MANAGE THEIR HEALTH... The reality though is that in many NHS provider organisations there isn’t even organisation-wide access to basic digital-enablers like WiFi. Therefore, the task ahead for many parts of the organisation to deliver on the promise of new digital technologies is significant. In this issue we present a range of articles, interviews and case studies that profile a selection of the many digital projects and initiatives that are happening across the UK NHS, with a view to understanding the current attitudes towards digital adoption. If you are a digital health company or service provider interested in accessing the huge potential of the UK NHS then you will want to pre-order a copy of our report titled “Selling Digital Health Technologies to the UK NHS” which provides an in-depth analysis of the NHS market for digital products. Scheduled to publish this summer, this detailed report presents - Market access routes for digital health technologies; Unravels the intricacies of NHS service commissioning; Provides expert advice and insider knowledge; and, Details the myriad of essential contacts, support networks and organisations that are available to facilitate the technology deployment process. For more details and to pre-order your copy contact [email protected]. ...WITH DATA SECURITY AT THE HEART OF OUR SERVICES Matthew Driver Editor www.excointouch.com/health Published by Simedics Limited www.simedics.org Editor: Matthew Driver Design: Jennifer Edwards For editorial, research and paper submissions, and advertising opportunities please contact: Matthew Driver [email protected] [phone] Subscribe at www.thejournalofmhealth.com The editor welcomes contributions for The Journal of mHealth. Submissions can be sent to the editor by email, images and graphics should be submitted in high resolution format. The opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily shared by the editors nor publishers. Although the highest level of care has been taken to ensure accuracy the publishers do not accept any liability for omissions or errors or claims made by contributors or advertisers, neither do we accept liability for damage or loss of unsolicited contributions. The publishers exercise the right to alter and edit any material supplied. This publication is protected by copyright and may not be reproduced in part or in full without specific written permission of the publishers. ISSN 2055-270X © 2016 Simedics Limited Healthcare at your fingertips The Journal of mHealth 1