Digital Health Coffee Time Briefing ☕

Your morning summary of digital health news, information and events to know about if you want to be “in the know”.

👇 News

🗨️ NHS England has launched an evaluation survey of the Digital Technology Assessment Criteria (DTAC) to quantify the impact of future changes. The survey asks respondents about their role in the completion of DTAC forms and goes on to find out their understanding and experiences of the process as well as their opinion on issues such as whether DTAC adds values and whether the process is easy to complete.

💸 Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust plans to go live with its electronic patient record (EPR) system in September 2025, two years after it selected Oracle Cerner in a deal worth £44m. According to the trust’s annual plan for 2025/26, the EPR will play a pivotal role in its transformation, which forms part of £38m of capital that is being invested in infrastructure.

🚗 Diagnostics firm Werfen is supporting the NHS’ net zero goals through a partnership with Drax Electric Vehicles. The manufacturer of in-vitro diagnostic medical devices has installed EV charging infrastructure to reduce its emissions and support sustainability targets in the NHS. The charging infrastructure enables fleet electrification, cuts workforce travel emissions and is supported by Drax’s My Electric Vehicles portal allowing the tracking of cost and CO₂ savings.

🎓 Digital health researcher Stella O’Brien has been awarded an honorary degree by Middlesex University. Within her career and voluntary work, O’Brien has explored how digital technologies and computer systems can capture knowledge. More than 20 years ago her influence helped shape the first internet accessibility guidelines.

👁️ Centre for Sight has launched IMVIS, a 3D eye imaging system. IMVIS digitises the traditional slit lamp exam, enabling remote, glasses-free 3D eye exams and real-time telemedicine. The system was developed in partnership with Infinite Medical Ventures and is in use in East Grinstead, with installations for Harley Street and Central London coming soon.

❓Did you know?

The UK government has announced that it is gearing up to “supercharge” its cyber security sector, which currently contributes £13.2bn to the economy and supports over 67,000 jobs across the nation as of 2024.

In a press release, published on 18 June 2025, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology announced up to £16 million in new funding, including £10m directed towards the CyberASAP programme, designed to transform academic research into new spin-out companies.

Another £6m is earmarked to nurture promising cyber start-ups and small-to-medium enterprises, fostering innovation from the ground up.

These investments are complemented by a new Cyber Growth Action Plan, intended to provide a strategic roadmap for future expansion, with recommendations expected in summer 2025.

📖 What we’re reading

A long read, published by The King’s Fund on 26 June 2025, explores the need for robust infrastructure to embed AI within the NHS and social care.

The piece, authored by Pritesh Mistry, fellow in digital technologies at The King’s Fund, argues that while the promise of AI for transforming health services is immense, its successful integration hinges on addressing fundamental, often overlooked, infrastructure challenges.

Mistry writes that current shortcomings in basic infrastructure – such as outdated devices, patchy connectivity across health and social care settings, and a lack of a unified cloud strategy – are significant roadblocks.

These foundational issues prevent AI from being effectively deployed and limit its potential to improve patient outcomes and streamline services.

The article also stresses the necessity of consistent, integrated, and high-quality data systems, emphasising that effective information governance is not just a regulatory hurdle, but a crucial enabler for building public trust and ensuring ethical AI use.

🚨Upcoming events

31 July, online event – NHS Digital Health 2025