Dr Sonia Szamocki

🚀 Transforming complex healthcare decisions into a single button 🚀 Some amazing insights from our previous Evo Inspires episode with Nick Venters, Chief Clinical Information Officer at Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust hosted by Emma Howard. What started as complex stakeholder negotiations between privacy advocates and research bodies is now a simple button in your NHS app. Sometimes the simplest solutions require the most thought! Want to share your digital health story? We're always looking for guests for both Evo Inspires and our Evolution Exchange Podcast. Comment "speaker" below and we'll be in touch! 🎤 #DigitalHealth #HealthcareInnovation #HealthTech #DataPrivacy  #HealthcareLeadership

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🚨 The Interoperability Imperative In health tech, success isn’t just about what your product can do. It’s about how well it plays with others. 💻 EHR systems ⏱️ Wearables 📈 Digital health tools If your solution can’t integrate seamlessly, providers will pass. Especially in markets like the NHS, where integration is everything. 💡 Here’s the takeaway: Prioritise interoperability from day one. It’s not an add-on; it’s the key to long-term success. #Healthtech #DigitalIntegration #StartupStrategy #EHR #Innovation #Health

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Innovation4health TM is an SIC - set up in 2017. To improve lives using real-time data science using Ai powered to improve and implement changes faster and using data to action by directors rather than just market statistics. Patient experience is key to workforce wellbeing. And workforce well-being nationally in NHS England is at 48% - healthcare professionals feel that they cannot provide the quality of care to patients. It’s costing 80 billion pounds plus per year for clinical negligence and avoidable mistakes. Less to mention increased patient mortality. Questions? How can technologies and Ai minimise workplace risk collectively? How can we use real-time data to make improvements? Who is responsible for Trust failures? Gyrus.cloud is an application designed by patients and healthcare professionals to do just that. Watch trailer for Chelsea Westminster Hospital below. We are now ready for institutional funds and private investment to scale our team and technology to improve millions of lives using Gyrus.cloud a new way to communicate- engage - and transform organisations. We are raising seed only 2M for 18months runway to onboard 9 other hospitals serving a total population health of 10 million people. The app is fully digital and in alignment with ESG, EDI, and wireless Green Technology. Call to: Hospital Directors, Managers, and Healthcare Digital Directors. Learn more about Gyrus.cloud and how the application can- Reduce patient risks Increase organisational efficiency Increase workforce NPS score https://lnkd.in/eiatMTe7

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I completely agree with the points raised here, Gus Kennedy. It's deeply frustrating to see such a critical sector stifled by outdated procurement frameworks that effectively shut out newer, innovative suppliers from contributing to NHS services. As a result, this kind of setup blocks competition and choice, ironically limiting market access at a time when the NHS should be prioritising value and agility to adapt to changing needs. The switch from central funding to ICB-controlled budgets should have opened the door for more competitive bids, yet the bulk of contracts still defaulted to legacy vendors like Accurx, as you highlighted with the recent October procurement outcomes. This reality contradicts the stated goal of moving away from monopolies in primary care tech, as it essentially trades one for another. It's clear that the procurement process urgently needs to be more flexible and transparent, not only to avoid entrenching incumbents but also to make space for innovative solutions that better meet the demands of modern healthcare. This approach would ultimately save taxpayer money and encourage health tech companies to keep investing in new solutions. Thanks for shedding light on this issue!

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[Sarcasm mode switched on]NHS England has published information that shows that acute providers can solve the financial efficiency problem. https://lnkd.in/enDcEJUe shows that 127 acute NHS providers can deliver full blown admitted patient care across 1,907 different types of patient care (called Healthcare Resource Groups) for less than £100 per patient. For those about to cry "data quality issues" the above analysis excludes the 2,583 rows of cost information where providers stated they could deliver full blown admitted patient care for less than £10 as clearly this indicates a data error. [Extra sarcasm mode switched on]I am grateful to the millions of pounds we have spent implementing much more detailed and accurate patient level costing within the NHS as without it we would never have identified these amazing kinds of financial opportunities [Sarcasm mode switch off]These clear errors represent £1.2m or 0.003% of the £40.3bn of the admitted patient costs and so do not distort actual cost benchmarking when done sensibly. However, reporting these kinds of unit costs just undermines the credibility or an incredibly important job NHS providers are trying really hard to do...

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🔍 Are you navigating the complexities of NHS recruitment strategy? Don't miss out on essential insights that could elevate your game. In this comprehensive guide, we'll navigate the intricate landscape of healthcare recruitment, shedding light on transforming your strategy to align with compliance, efficiency, and profitability seamlessly. From the financial implications of recruitment lags to the transformative power of automated onboarding with Credentially, this post offers actionable strategies tailored to NHS executives and directors. Discover how to: 🔹 Mitigate recruitment delays and reduce costs with streamlined candidate assessment processes. 🔹 Navigate compliance challenges effectively and avoid costly fines. 🔹 Harness real-time data for proactive decision-making. 🔹 Demonstrate the ROI of compliance initiatives to justify investments. Elevate your recruitment strategy and set new standards for excellence in NHS talent acquisition. Read the full post here: https://bit.ly/44BJAnn #NHSRecruitment #HealthcareLeadership #TalentAcquisition #Compliance #RecruitmentStrategy

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Are lengthy waiting lists impacting your patient care delivery? Using our cloud-based automated engagement solution, we help NHS trusts efficiently validate and prioritise your waiting lists. Patients receive personalised surveys via SMS, and our chatbot follows up with calls to assess their needs. If necessary, the system diverts them to a Referral Management Centre operator for further assistance. This process not only ensures patient choice and engagement but also helps you maintain the accuracy of waiting lists. Benefits of our automated call solution: 80% contact rate achieved through a blend of automated and agent-supported calls. Significant cost savings over traditional postal methods. Faster reduction of backlog and waiting times. Quick deployment and integration with hospital data systems. Experience the benefits of automation in improving patient care and operational efficiency. https://lnkd.in/e2ajMqNZ #NHSConfedExpo #ServiceImprovement #HealthcareEfficiency #PatientCare

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Interesting budget announcements yesterday in the UK. And there was a lot to cover. I think the most positive thing was about the NHS and the promise to boost the Digital Health sector by £2bn investment. The Chancellor promised that small businesses would be protected as the employment allowance would increase from £5000 to £10,500. This means small businesses can employ 4 full-time employees without paying any National Insurance. But how will it affect the rest of the businesses? "The confirmation that employers’ National Insurance contributions will rise from 13.8% to 15% will hit innovators; prompting the sector to delay hiring, and in turn slowing time to market for new life-changing technologies,” said Nadia Kadhim, CEO at Naq As a result, while the investment is greatly appreciated, it is also much required. We must remember that most innovation is driven by small or medium-sized private-sector enterprises. To drive innovation, firms must be able to employ top teams. However, as expenses rise, companies may be forced to work with fewer people in their teams, affecting the speed of innovation and service, business pressure, and employee stress levels. I do not believe it is resolving the unemployment issue. “Today’s promise of additional money isn’t a golden ticket but this budget could be an important date that brings with it opportunities: to properly examine what needs to be done nationally and locally, and to be brave enough to stop activities that add little value to allow for innovative practices that increase productivity and patient benefit." Mark Ratnarajah, Managing Director at C2-Ai #UKbudget #NHSinvestment #digitalhealth #healthinnovation https://lnkd.in/enRXJHzc

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Part 2 in my series on how NHS procurement baffles me. A case study: COVID appointment software. At Hero Health, we've tried to compete in NHS primary care since 2021. The last relevant primary care framework DFOCVC was procured in late 2020 (before we really existed as a product for the NHS). Once procured, for reasons I've never fully understood, the framework was never re-opened to new entrants - since then ICBs/CCGs have only been able to procure from the 2020 approved DFOCVC suppliers, and any new entrants to the market since 2020 (ourselves Hero Health, but also the likes of Rapid Health and Anima Health) have been unable to sell to ICBs, thereby reinforcing the position of the incumbents for 4 long years. The framework should have been replaced by Digital Pathways earlier this year, but iPlato's High Court battle meant this didn't happen. To make matters more complex/exclusive - to compete for the COVID booking software lots (a separate pot of cash), you needed to be on DFOCVC. So despite being in a good position to deliver this technically, we weren't able to participate. This gave the likes of Accurx a nice revenue stream during COVID. The central funding of Accurx's COVID booking platform ended in the summer of this year (reported as £5M p.a. for 2/3 years...so pretty healthy). At this point, ICBs were then told to buy directly, and look across the market for systems. Perhaps there were specific specs that needed to be met for the booking platform but the specs never crossed my desk / I didn't see them at the time...and based on the outcomes of the procurement, it seems they didn't cross many other suppliers' desks either, as today I noticed the following ICB procurements in October for Accurx appointment booking: NW London ICB - £765,964.47 (Accurx) Lancs & South Cumbria - £502,770.03 (Accurx) Hampshire & Isle of Wight - £636,372.92 (Accurx) Gloucs -  £201,422.20 (Accurx) N/E London - £659,337.68 (Accurx) NE & Cumbria - £508,719 (Accurx) Kent & Medway - £363,198.18 (Accurx) Somerset - £493,514.96 (Accurx) Yorks - £329,875.45 (Accurx) Norfolk - £77,388.80 (Accurx) Beds - £448,273.56 (Accurx) Derby - £384,142.73 (Accurx) Black Country - £518,718.60 (Accurx) Leicester - £172,851.77 (Accurx) Notts - £83,271.55 (Accurx) Lincs - £116,319.99 (Accurx) Birmingham - £624,310.80 (Accurx) These were funded through GCloud13, which (ironically perhaps), we were actually on - with purchases made for 1, and sometimes 2 years. There is a stated aim to get away from duopolies like TPP and EMIS', but now in some parts of primary care it seems we've swapped duopolies for a pure Accurx monopoly - which really doesn't lend itself to price competition / value for money. So in summary, it appears that funding allocations now in Autumn 2024, were in effect determined by a procurement process run in 2020. And we wonder why the government pays a premium and start-up healthtech businesses give up?!

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Yesterday's NHS waiting times figures demonstrate just how far there is still to go to clear the backlog. Our CEO & co-founder Jacob Haddad spoke to Times Radio about the urgent need for staff to be given tech that streamlines waiting lists and improves patient care. He said: "Today's figures demonstrate the critical need for a whole systems approach to healthcare, it's not just about minor tweaks; it's about fundamentally rethinking how care is delivered and ensuring the system is joined up." Jacob also emphasised the importance of leveraging communication platforms to reduce waiting lists and improve efficiency. "By contacting patients with simple questions, we've found that many can be removed from waiting lists because they no longer need treatment." Listen to the full interview here 👇 https://lnkd.in/eui8aNrB #NHS #Accurx #DigitalHealth #PatientCare #HealthcareTransformation

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SHIFTING POWER FROM INSTITUTIONS & ORGANISATIONS TO PEOPLE & COMMUNITIES Annual expenditure on UK healthcare currently sits at just below £300 billion, almost 10% of our gross domestic product. The NHS has a clear mandate to deliver healthcare free at the point of access, but what constitutes the "health" this service is trying to is less obvious to those of us working in it. Is the priority to keep people alive as long as possible (#lifeexpectancy), or to delay the onset of disease and disability (#healthexpectancy)? Given advancements in technology and drug development it is shocking to learn that both life AND health expectancy rates are starting to fall, whilst health inequalities increase. This is against a backdrop of concern about #burnout in health professionals, the carbon footprint of the #NHS and the negative impact of #climatechange on our health and health inequalities. Every government paper talks of the need for a "paradigm shift", and yet there is no articulation of what such a service would look like if we could wave that magic wand and modernise the vast bureaucratic monolith that is the NHS overnight. As we say in the coaching room if you don't know where you are trying to get to then you have absolutely no chance of getting there! Having worked as a GP in the NHS for over two decades it has been revelatory to discover #lifestylemedicine #integrativemedicine and #mindbodymedicine over recent years and integrate this cutting edge science into my NHS consultations. I have realised how much power I was holding when using a conventional approach to healthcare and shifting from a #dramatriangle dynamic to an #empowerment dynamic has prompted feedback such as "I've been waiting for this consultation for years". I was therefore delighted to hear about not for profit movement Heal Scotland, which is on a mission to help educate, inspire, and support people so they can take care of themselves using simple methods and protocols in a way that is accessible, approachable, and fun. I am honoured to be invited to deliver a workshop describing my work as a holistic NHS GP in #Alness and #Invergordon at the Heal Scotland Wild Medicine Festival this weekend in Broadford for which a few day tickets are still available for tomorrow using the link at the bottom of this post. The workshop will intertwine the most powerful concepts from the worlds of psychology and neuroscience with spoken word art telling James Hickson's incredible story of recovery from #PTSD and #addictions, aiming to inspire personal change and share a vision for an NHS that is kinder to people, health professionals and the planet. We hope to see you there! https://lnkd.in/eXqQSDf2

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Today’s report from the Financial Times around the use of Whatsapp in clinical settings, for the sharing of patient data, is a stark reminder that the current systems for handling patient data are falling behind the needs of clinicians. https://lnkd.in/e6kPJ-k4   The report reveals that tools like Whatsapp are being used as “workaround for official systems that are often siloed” in order to speed up communication between staff. This is nothing new. Last year the ICO reprimanded NHS Lanarkshire for sharing patient data via Whatsapp, however today’s report shows that despite this, clinicians are continuing to utilise tools like WhatsApp even with the risks it poses to patient data. However a compliant solution does exist, purpose built for the clinical collaboration, designed to bridge across siloed systems, with the necessary regulatory certification to display clinical images - Bleepa. It's the only platform that delivers full compliance.   Find out more about Bleepa’s security and compliance on our website: https://lnkd.in/eXmxB6BK

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UK Digital Health Leaders: Let's Talk Innovation From Emergency Care to Digital Health MS Bournemouth University Here's what 1000+ patient cases taught me about UK healthcare transformation. [Thread that's making UK health tech companies rethink innovation] UK HEALTHCARE REALITY CHECK: NHS Digital Transformation needs people who understand: • Front-line Emergency Care • Clinical Data Analytics • Digital Health Innovation • Patient-First Solutions MY UNIQUE POSITION: → Emergency & Trauma Care Expert → Digital Health MS from Bournemouth University → Clinical Analytics Specialist → Healthcare Innovation Focus WHAT I'VE BUILT: Created solutions focusing on: • Predictive Healthcare • Patient Care Enhancement • Clinical Workflow Optimization • Digital Health Integration UK MARKET INSIGHT: The gap isn't in technology. It's in understanding how to: 1. Implement within NHS framework 2. Integrate with existing systems 3. Improve patient outcomes 4. Impact healthcare delivery TARGETING: • Babylon Health • Ada Health • Push Doctor • AccuRx • Huma • Healios • ORCHA • Patients Know Best • DrDoctor • Advanced OPEN TO DISCUSS: • Digital Health Innovation • NHS Integration Strategy • Clinical Analytics Implementation • Healthcare Transformation Currently exploring opportunities with UK digital health companies serious about combining: → Clinical Excellence → Technical Innovation → NHS Understanding → Patient Care Focus Email: [email protected] Portfolio: mohammadfaheem.carrd.co #UKHealthTech #NHSDigital #DigitalHealth #HealthcareInnovation

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💊 𝗡𝗛𝗦 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝘂𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗶𝗹𝘀 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘀. NHS Business Services authority just released their annual analysis on prescription costs in England - and it makes interesting reading. - Atorvastatin is the most dispensed product with 65m items - Number of items prescribed has grown beyond 1.2m for the 1st time - Cardiovascular system medication costs increased by 67% over 10 years 💰Once again - 𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴, with a £500m increase to £10.9billion for prescription costs. That rate is 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗲𝗱 (5% v 3%) - simply put, rising more than reimbursement is. Given the nervous wait pharmacists have every month hoping drugs are awarded concessions - that won't be a surprise.   Long term drug costs continue to trend upward and pharmacies and dispensing doctors bear the brunt - they need a revised contract as soon as possible to help them plan for forthcoming years.

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🚀 Floinsights’ transformational flow management software As the dust settles on another budget, with the government announcing “more funding for the NHS” the fundamentals don’t and haven’t really changed. Transformation in the way we think about healthcare delivery as well as the way we actually deliver is critical if anything is ever going to alter the path we are on. At FloInsights we have been working hard to develop cutting edge software tools providing healthcare services with a frictionless and scalable platform delivering: ✅ Real time actionable insights ✅ AI driven live resource allocations ✅ Removal of bottlenecks and inefficiencies ✅ Rapid and dynamic simulations to boost capacity and throughput This unrivalled insight into staff and patient flows will help us to understand where the money needs to be spent and how we can invest and innovate to grasp the future of healthcare delivery. Join hundreds of other healthcare services and sign up to start this journey today: https://lnkd.in/erF7XrMN #DigitalTwin #HealthcareInnovation #ClinicEfficiency #CapacityIncrease #HealthTech #Simulation #TechnologyAdoption

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Reference to some strong evidence in this article. Worth reading 🤓

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🌱 Scaling NHS General Practice: Key Insights for 2024 and Beyond As NHS general practices grow, addressing workforce challenges and adopting new technologies is crucial for long-term success. Optimising resources and infrastructure will improve patient care and support scalability. 💡 Key insights: Addressing workforce shortages Leveraging technology for efficiency Enhancing infrastructure for growth Ready to scale your practice effectively? Discover how to navigate 2024’s healthcare challenges. 👉 Read more: https://hubs.la/Q02Zb1780 #NHS #GeneralPractice #HealthcareGrowth #WorkforceManagement #HealthTech

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