'Quicker adoption of technology needed,' says NHS chief

Monday 23rd January 2012

Sally Chisholm, Chief Executive of the NHS Technology Adoption Centre (NTAC), spoke at the Third Annual 'Overcoming Regulatory and Commercialisation Challenges for Personalised Medicines' conference in Vienna last week.

The event was attended by CEOs, Vice Presidents, Directors and Senior Managers of Pharma, Biotech and Diagnostic Companies from across the world, as well as other stakeholders including Ministries of Health, Healthcare providers and Regulatory agencies focused on Personalised Medicines.

Chisholm was invited to speak to the audience at the event about the critical issues involved with adopting innovation in the NHS. 

She discussed how the NHS is perceived to be slow to adopt technology in comparison with health care systems in other developed countries but that in fact, technology adoption is also relatively slow across all health care systems.

Chisholm also spoke about the role the NHS Technology Adoption Centre has in ensuring that new proven technologies are being implemented across the NHS and how the critical issues involved in the adoption process include: 

• Ensuring innovation has been thoroughly assessed by all the people who would be involved in it – grass roots through to senior management
• Decommissioning of previous system is undertaken
• Re-skilling – people taught new skills or different type of person is employed
• Adjusting tariffs 

The speech sparked some positive debate, with the attendees recognising how important it is that patients across the world receive the best possible care and access to technologies which have been shown to provide patient benefit.

NHS Technology Adoption Centre

Your comments(terms and conditions apply):

“And now health software is inclusively classified by the EC as 'medical devices', those designing, developing, testing and operating it need to be professionally recognised as 'fit to practice' in health informatics - whether the people are, as Sally C says, in the healthcare service, or in a third party providing the solution to them. www.ukchip.org is well-placed with standards, code of conduct etc to be the basis for such recognition wherever in Europe (but I would say that wouldn't I!)." – Jean Roberts, UKCHIP, Staffordshire, UK