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

💓 Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust is the first hospital in the UK to introduce a DIY heart monitor from Phillips, to help diagnose heart rhythm issues. The ePatch can be posted to patients, who can easily attach it to their skin at home. After a few days it is returned for data analysis using Cardiologs AI tool.

🚑 Telent has installed Panasonic TOUGHBOOK touchscreen tablets and vehicle data routers to more than 6,500 ambulance vehicles, boosting connectivity while on the move. It is part of an upgrade of mobilisation communications for 11 NHS ambulance trusts in England and Wales for the ongoing NHS Ambulance Radio Programme.

💽  UK Research and Innovation’s investment in Administrative Data Research UK  has received a five-year extension following £168m of government funding. This will see a partnership with Cancer Research UK on a cancer data driven detection programme extended.

📱 MyHealthChecked PLC has agreed a three-year partnership with Patients Know Best to enable customers using at-home Blood and DNA tests to access their laboratory test results via the NHS App. Customers can chose to upload health check results from at-home blood and DNA tests to PKB.

🧠  Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust is leading a trial of a low-field MRI scanner combined with AI to improve dementia diagnosis and mental health research. The trial aims to determine if the scanner – when combined with AI – can match the quality of traditional MRI scans.

❓Did you know?

A study published in the Journal of Human Development and Capabilities on 20 July 2025 found that giving children under 13 a smartphone can lead to a “detachment from reality”, and impact mind health and wellbeing in young adulthood.

Using data from the Global Mind Project, researchers studied nearly 2 million people in 163 countries about smartphone use before age 13.

According to the research, owning a smartphone before the age of 13 is associated with poorer mind health outcomes in young adulthood and this is particularly pronounced in females.

Issues such as suicidal thoughts, poorer emotional regulation and diminished self worth were all noted. Researchers linked these issues to several factors including social media access, cyberbullying, poor family relationships and disrupted sleep.

📖 What we’re reading

An analysis of the 10 year health plan by NHS Confederation has reviewed how the plan fares against the calls the organisation has made on behalf of healthcare leaders.

NHS Confederation welcomes the plan’s commitment to a more digitally capable workforce and cultivating the “most AI-enabled workforce in the world”, ensuring staff receive support for skill development to operate at their full professional capacity.

Also it says that the introduction of a single patient record aligns with NHS Confederation’s call to improve patient record systems and welcomes plans to accelerate AI adoption.

However it says that the government could have gone further in terms of overseeing the delivery of moving resources upstream from hospital to community, primary care contract reform, implementing Mental Health Act reforms and facilitating collaborative governance in integrated care boards.

🚨Upcoming events

27 August, online event – Navigating your path to senior digital leadership