The Digital Ecology podcast creates a window into the backstory of technology adoption in the UK’s healthcare system. Through interviews with experts in the field, we shine a light on the inner workings of digital health and uncover a world of complexity and challenge. We are in the foothills of technology adoption, where the hype doesn’t always match the reality.
In this podcast I discuss the role of social media in young people and suicide prevention with Professor Jo Robinson from youth mental health service Orygen in Melbourne, Australia.
In this episode I chat with Kayikunmi about all things product and continuous discovery.
In this podcast I chat all things workforce and leadership in digital health with James Freed.
James Freed
@jamesfreed5
In this episode I chat with Sam Shah about what makes digital health not only complicated, but often complex and sometimes chaotic.
Sam Shah
@healthyopinion
In this podcast I’m joined by James Woollard, a child psychiatrist and chief clinical information officer, along with Wendy Chapman and Kit Huckvale who run an immersive digital health simulation space at the University of Melbourne
Is it possible to innovate in the NHS? Spoiler alert - Charlotte convinced me that the answer is yes. Charlotte is an innovation dynamo - starting life as a volunteer in the NHS, she now leads on innovation for one of the largest acute NHS trusts in the country. In the final episode of the series, Charlotte shares her personal journey and how she found a niche, creating the conditions which enable innovation to flourish. I'm struck by Charlotte's personal qualities of curiosity and a phenomenal ability to nurture and network people together to facilitate positive change. Listen to the end - Charlotte's most proud moment will give you spine tingles!
Charlotte Fox @CharlotteFoxNHS
In this podcast I chat all things user-centred design with Toby Avery, chief digital information officer at Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. Toby shares the story of how an idea and an experiment with design has turned into a trust wide approach to designing for the outcome with multi-disciplinary fusion teams. Toby and his team have gone as far as designing SystmOne user interfaces for clinical teams that match their workflow, resulting in high levels of satisfaction with the electronic patient record - an unusual thing to pull off in the NHS! We also discuss how you create a culture of product, recruit and retain user-centred design roles in the NHS and challenges in building a diverse workforce.
Toby Avery
@tobyavery
In this episode Anne Cooper and I chat about the relationship between quality improvement and digital transformation. Anne tells me about her Minerva programme, building the leadership skills of women working in digital health. I first met Anne when she was chief nurse at NHS Digital and she is now a non-executive director at an ambulance NHS trust as well as the chair of Ethical Healthcare Consulting. Anne mentions a blog post during our conversation, which you can find here Speaking the Right Language – a Triple Aim for Health Informatics
Anne Cooper
In this episode I interview Tracey Watson about her research into the role of user-centred design in NHS digital transformation. With a previous role directing industry partnerships and engagement for the NHS, Tracey now leads digital transformation for the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust. During our conversation,Tracey shares her not so usual pre-NHS background and goes on to talk through the qualitative research she did for her NHS Digital Academy masters degree. With a distinction under her belt, Tracey has many words of wisdom about why and how we should take a design-led and user-centred approach to digital adoption in healthcare.
Tracy Watson
In this episode I continue my interview with Thomas Webb, founder and CEO of Ethical Healthcare Consulting. Thomas shares his thoughts about the current state of the electronic patient record market and why he believes we are on the cusp of some big changes. He makes the case for open source, open standards and investing in the community of people trying to accelerate this new approach to the core digital systems used within our NHS.
Thomas Webb (Part 2)
In this episode I interview Thomas Webb who founded Ethical Healthcare Consulting back in 2016. Thomas shares his journey creating Ethical Healthcare, why he did it and what he has learnt along the way. His story is about finding a different way to help the NHS with digital transformation, one which aligns his company with the values and purpose of his NHS clients. Thomas makes the case that we need to spend more time focusing on the human dimensions of change if we are going to make a step change in adoption.
Thomas Webb (Part 1)
In this episode I interview Kathryn Church about her journey from social worker to digital strategist and find out why social justice and human factors are so important to her. Kathryn has 20 years’ experience designing and executing digital transformation strategies, digital operating models, products and solutions in companies of all types: from start-ups to global corporates across financial services, utilities telcos and now the NHS. Joining Surrey Heartlands Integrated Care System as chief digital officer she found a yawning gap between expectation and reality and was shocked at the level of technical debt, cybersecurity risk and lack of investment in basic infrastructure. Despite the challenges, Kathryn is hopeful about digital adoption and believes a focus on human factors is imperative if the NHS is to make the step change it needs.
Kathryn Church
In this episode I interview Andy Wilkins about how we approach complexity when it comes to digital adoption in England's National Health Service. Andy is a systems thinker and speaker on the international conference circuit as well as presenting and consulting on a wide range of human-centred topics, including re-thinking health and care for the 21st Century.
Andy Wilkins
In this episode I interview Lauren Bevan about the backstory of how the money moves in the NHS, how digital technologies get bought and sold, the barriers and the possibilities for doing things differently.
Lauren Bevan
In this episode I interview Dr Ayesha Rahim to find out what life is really like as an NHS CCIO. As a Perinatal Psychiatrist, Deputy Chief Medical Officer and Chief Clinical Information Officer, Ayesha brings a clinician perspective to digital health in our public healthcare system.
Dr Ayesha Rahim