An HSJ and Care UK roundtable discusses some of the possibilities of greater use of digital technology in primary care
Making greater use of digital technology in primary care is a top priority for health and social care secretary Matt Hancock – and something a lot of GPs would love to see happen.
But sometimes the barriers to using tech in general practice seem unsurmountable in an NHS which still embraces fax machines and where GPs often can’t access information about patients seen in other services. And when technological solutions do emerge they can seem disruptive and destabilising to the existing model of provision.
HSJ got together leading suppliers and entrepreneurs, GP representatives and Mr Hancock to talk about some of the possibilities of greater use of digital technology – and how these could be brought into more general use.
The roundtable participants were:
Alastair McLellan - HSJ editor, chair
Matt Hancock – secretary of state for health and social care
Jim Easton – chief executive, Care UK
Paul Bate – director of NHS services, Babylon
Dr Murray Ellender – chief executive, eConsult
Lee Dentith – chief executive, Now Healthcare
Wais Shaifta – chief executive, Push Dr
Luke Buhl-Nielsen – UK country manager, Livi
Dr Bayju Thakar – chief executive, Doctor Care Anywhere
Mindy Daeschner – chief commercial strategy and marketing officer, DoctorLink
Dr Alexander Finlayson – academic and co-founder Nye
Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard, RCGP chair
Dr Richard Vautrey – BMA GPs’ committee chair
Hadley Beeman – chief technology adviser to Mr Hancock
Jeremy Taylor – chief executive National Voices
