Technology trade association techUK has published its Ten Point Plan for Healthtech to accelerate the digitisation of the health and care sector.

In light of the developments the UK’s health and care sector has undertaken due to the pandemic, the new report sets out 10 recommendations for public sector stakeholders to help ensure that digital technology is at the forefront of improving outcomes for citizens and transforming how care is delivered nationally.  

The Ten Point Plan outlines a set of priorities for transformation from industry, focusing on: empowering the public; embedding standards and interoperability; digitising social care; supporting the health and social care workforce; and reforming business environment and procurement.

Among the more specific details, techUK urges for NHSX to continue to work with industry to ensure that the Digital Technology Assessment Criteria (DTAC) is fit for purpose and to raise awareness and support commissioners to understand and utilise the DTAC accordingly.

Additionally, the health service should prioritise improving citizens’ access to their own data, enabling them to make data-driven, informed decisions about their own care, and the NHS should leverage the channels that the public uses to access information about health and care to raise visibility of citizen-facing digital health technology.

Julian David, techUK CEO, said: “The past year has highlighted the essential role that digital health technology can play in supporting the NHS and care sector to deliver better outcomes for patients. Building on recent successes, this paper distills  several complex challenges and issues that the health and social care sector faces into ten logical and, importantly, achievable recommendations. The health of the population is the highest priority and this document offers an essential roadmap for working in partnership with the system to improve the delivery of care across the board.”