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

🏥 Oracle Health has launched its next-gen electronic health record solution equipped with AI and voice capabilities, which is designed to be easier for clinicians to navigate. It is available for ambulatory providers in the US, pending regulatory approval. Oracle plans to introduce a full spectrum of acute care functionality in 2026 to support a wider range of healthcare settings and clinical needs.

👨‍⚕️NHS patients in England can share their full medical records held by GPs with private doctors digitally via a new app, called ORB Connect. The app allows patients to grant access to their GP records for as long as they choose, from a single consultation through to permanent access.

📱Revolution Partners founder Oliver Harris has announced the launch of MyLife Addiction Rehab, a tech-enabled mental health and addiction recovery business backed by a £50 million investment. It combines residential facilities with a companion app which offers access to therapy, journaling, and behavioural analytics.

💡The Scottish Government has announced a £650,000 challenge fund through CivTech Round 11, seeking innovative solutions to help people with long-term health conditions such as musculoskeletal disorders to participate more fully in the workforce. The challenge is part of a £5.5m funding package across eight public sector innovation challenges.

🧑‍💻Devon Council has partnered with System C to deliver an upgrade to its social care services through the adoption of Liquidlogic Adults Case Management and Liquidlogic Children’s Case Management solutions. The systems are expected to be fully operational by early 2027.

👂 Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust has launched the first vestibular screening programme for infants in the UK. The vestibular system, located deep within the inner ear, is a tiny organ that plays a central role in balance, movement and spatial awareness. Screening, done between six months and two-years-old, uses new technology called the cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potential (cVEMP) test.

❓ Did you know that?

Research from HealthTech startup Tandem Health found that almost a third of doctors (32%) say paperwork is directly fuelling burnout, and more than half of patients (56%) say admin stops doctors from giving them their full attention.

The Time to Care report, based on a national survey of UK clinicians and patients, also found that 64% of doctors say paperwork harms the quality of patient interactions.

However, 88% of clinicians believe that ambient AI scribes that capture and structure consultation notes in real time will be standard in the NHS within five years, and 77% of patients would support it if it meant more face time with their doctor.

Dr Ian Robertson, UK director at Tandem Health, said: “Tools like ambient AI scribes aren’t a silver bullet, but they could quietly give doctors something priceless: time back with patients.”

📖 What we’re reading

The Tony Blair Institute (TBI) has suggested that improving the NHS App should be prime minister Keir Starmer’s priority in fixing the NHS.

In the ‘The NHS at a Crossroads’ report, published on 1 August 2025, the TBI says the app should be a ‘national priority’ and run in a similar way to commercial apps like Deliveroo and Uber.

It adds that the NHS App “must not fossilise old models of care in new technology” such as through the separation of ‘My NHS GP’ and ‘My Specialist’ tools in the app outlined in the  government’s 10 year health plan.

This could “perpetuate old models of care rather than enable transformation” by reinforcing divisions between primary and secondary care at a time when more integrated care is “desperately needed,” the TBI argues.

It adds that the NHS App must be co-developed with the single patient record, must be fully integrated with clinical pathways, and more integrated with private-sector providers.

The report also calls for the app to focus on consumer-focused design which is “intuitive, slick and convenient to use”.

“It is possible to generate a slick, polished and fundamentally useful app in four years, but only if the government acts with clarity, urgency and authority, draws on global best practice and works with experts who have done this before” the report says.

🚨 Upcoming events

22 August 2025, online event – Digital nursing and the 10 year plan