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

🛩️ Following a six-month trial at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital, the NHS is looking to use drones to transport blood samples and other pathology items, medicine and supplies between 12 hospitals in the capital. The trial which took place between October 2024 and April 2025, in partnership with Apian and Wing, has been extended to October 2025.

👶 Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn, Norfolk is using a £60,000 manikin of a newborn baby which is able to simulate a range of conditions. The high-tech piece of equipment will help hospital staff to refine their skills and deliver hands-on training.

💷 Belfast-based Cumulus Neuroscience has successfully closed a £3.25m equity funding round. The digital health tech company will use the funds to scale its commercial operations. It is currently focused on advancing neuroscience clinical trials and patient care through the use of improved data and AI with the NeuLogiq platform.

🧠 Google has launched two new AI initiatives aimed at improving mental health treatment and expanding access, including a collaboration with the Wellcome Trust. Google for Health and Google DeepMind have teamed up with the Wellcome Trust for a long-term research investment, which will support the development of more precise, objective and personalised ways to measure and treat anxiety, depression and psychosis.

👩‍💻 The Scottish Government’s Digital Lifelines initiative has secured £783,150 for 2025/2026 with further programme activities planned for delivery over the next two years. Delivered by the Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre, the initiative aims to reduce the risk of harm and death for people who use drugs, through the use of digital inclusion and services.

❓Did you know?

New insight into the London Care Record found that it is saving health and care professionals’ time up to a value of £4.6m every month.

An updated independent economic study published by OneLondon determined that, based on 70.9m uses of the London Care Record up to the end of March 2025, the value of time saved was estimated to be up to £135m annually. The study was carried out by Queen’s University of Belfast and was an update of its 2023 independent economic evaluation.

The study estimated that up to January 2025 the value of time saved was up to £4.6m a month – a figure that was significantly higher than the 2023 estimates, which ranged up to £1,356,127 a month.

Luke Readman, director of digital transformation for NHS England, said: “Staff also continue to report that the system makes a significant difference in supporting them to provide effective, safe and joined-up care more quickly.

“Taken together this demonstrates that the London Care Record continues to be an essential and ‘must have’ tool for our frontline staff.

“Harnessing the benefits of digital technology is a key pillar of the government’s 10 year plan for health in England. Thanks to successful systems such as the London Care Record, we are well placed to drive this important transformation agenda forward across the capital for the benefit of the communities we serve.”

📖 What we’re reading

A joint report by BCG, Siemens Healthineers and Imperial College London, published in June 2025, outlines a vision for transforming healthcare in the UK through innovation in diagnosis.

The report, ‘Faster, better and earlier diagnosis‘, suggests a shift from isolated assessments to an integrated, multi-modal approach, leveraging diverse data streams to influence clinical journeys, support adaptive health systems and accelerate research and development.

Digital health innovation plays a central role in this transformation, including an intelligent triage systems accessible through a ‘digital front door.’ The report points to novel streamlined care pathways, such as image recognition software that could significantly reduce skin cancer referrals.

Also it says that advancements in decentralised testing, like at-home cervical smear tests, are noted for their potential to decrease the need for in-person appointments.

The integration of diagnostic data is also seen as a driver for better innovation in R&D. By incorporating this data into adaptive, decentralised virtual trials, the report suggests a potential to reduce drug development timelines.

Holistic data integration could lead to substantial financial value for the NHS, through both operational cost savings and commercial data revenue, estimated at up to £10-15 bn annually.

According to the report, realising this vision, which could boost the UK’s GDP by approximately £40bn per year, requires a unified strategy involving healthcare providers, regulators and industry leaders to adopt and scale near-mature technologies.

🚨Upcoming events

31 July, online event – NHS Digital Health 2025