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

🤰The Badger Notes app has made available to maternity patients at Kettering General Hospital from early September, replacing paper notes. Expectant parents can use the app to access their notes, view real-time updates from their care team and feel more in charge of their pregnancy care.

💷 A Newcastle University project has received £22 million in funding from the UK National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The Newcastle NIHR Innovation Observatory gauges whether health technologies can deliver real change to the NHS. The funding will help its ‘horizon scanning’ work with organisations, identifying potential technologies and then developing them for NHS use.

🩸 SHOT has launched My Transfusion, a blood transfusion information app. It is intended to be a useful source of information for patients who may need blood transfusions, as well as health care staff involved in the transfusion consent and decision-making process.

👨‍👨‍👦‍👦 A digital tool offering insights into population health and workforce data has been introduced by NHS Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board. The People Story Dashboard brings together 11 different elements and factors of health including population estimate, social care, dental, activity and more.

🖥️ Dr Julian has launched a digital ADHD Pre-Screen Consultation service, allowing employers, occupational health teams and NHS partners to fast-track access to specialist services. The service offers 60-minute clinical consultations, an outcome report and next-step recommendations.

❓Did you know?

A white paper, published by identity verification tech firm IKE TECH, in September 2025, found that 73% of Britons say that smarter technology could curb the issue of youth vaping.

‘The first vale-free youth generation: The critical role of technology to end underage access and illicit sales’ is based on a survey of 2,000 adults and 500 15-17 year olds in the UK, as part of a larger survey of US and UK respondents.

Although there has been progress in in reducing cigarette smoking among young adults, the use of vapes in the UK has increased.

According to Vape Club the number of illegal vapes seized has risen year-on-year since 2020, with a 100-fold increase carrying potentially serious health risks.

IKE TECH argues that the use of digital age verification technology to restrict underage access could help reduce the risks.

Over half (53%) of survey respondents support checks at the point of sale, with 52% supporting verification at the point of use – such as a digital ‘child lock’ with biometric identification.

📖 What we’re reading

Building on the government’s 10 year health plan, Roche Diagnostics released its Power of Testing report in August 2025, exploring how the UK can build a more preventative, efficient and resilient healthcare system for the future.

The report was developed in partnership with the Institute of Biomedical Science and focuses on prioritising investment in in-vitro diagnostics (IVDs) across the NHS.

According to the report: “IVDs underpin over 70% of clinical decisions yet remain undervalued and under prioritised within UK healthcare investment and planning.”

It underscores how IVDs can support the transformational shift the NHS is undertaking from analogue to digital, from hospitals to communities, and treatment to prevention.

The report’s authors call for the government and NHS system leaders to mandate equitable funding for diagnostics; invest in the biomedical workforce, use existing expertise and infrastructure to support the adoption of innovation; and champion the role of non-imaging diagnostics.

🚨Upcoming events

2 October 2025, London – Celebrating the future of health