Health technology expert panel meets for the first time

IT experts, clinicians and academics will come together at the first meeting of the Healthtech Advisory Board today (19 November 2018) to help guide the government on its mission to transform technology in the NHS.

The board will look at how the NHS can harness the potential of technology and create a culture of innovation, with the aim of improving patient outcomes and reducing the workload on NHS staff.

The board will report directly to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. Its role will include:

• assisting in policy creation
• challenging decision making
• acting as a sounding board for new ideas

Dr Ben Goldacre will chair the board. He is a clinician, academic and author who runs the DataLab at the University of Oxford. Dr Goldacre will be joined by:

• Rachel Dunscombe – CEO of the NHS Digital Academy and Director of Digital for Salford Royal NHS Group
• Nicole Junkermann – founder of NJF Holdings, an international finance and investment company
• Manoj Badale – co-founder of Blenheim Chalcot, a digital venture builder
• David Gann – Professor of Innovation and Technology Management at Imperial College London
• Sir Mark Walport – Chief Executive of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)
• Nicola Blackwood – Chair of the Human Tissue Authority
• Roger Taylor – Chair of Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation
• Daniel Korski CBE – co-founder and CEO of PUBLIC, a venture capital firm
• Michelle Brennan – company group chair for Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices Companies
• Dan Sheldon – Head of Digital at Well Pharmacy
• Jeni Tennison – CEO of the Open Data Institute
• Parker Moss – health technology entrepreneur in residence at F-Prime and Eight Roads

The board will meet every quarter to help guide the government on its mission to overhaul technology and IT in health and social care.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said:

I want the UK to have the most advanced HealthTech ecosystem in the world. That starts with improving the technology and IT systems in the NHS and creating a culture of innovation so patients can benefit from cutting-edge treatments while reducing the workload of staff.

The new future-focused HealthTech Advisory Board will bring together tech experts, clinicians and academics to identify where change needs to happen and be an ideas hub for how we can improve patient outcomes and to make the lives of NHS staff easier.

Chair of the board Ben Goldacre said:

I am delighted that Matt Hancock has created this board to inject challenge and diverse expertise around better use of data, evidence and technology in healthcare.

I hope we can bring positive change for staff and patients, and realise the Tech Vision with a cutting-edge 21st century NHS. Medicine is driven by information: better use of data can revolutionise health care.