A new panel of clinicians, academics and IT experts have joined forces to create a HealthTech Advisory Board. The aim of the panel is to advise the Health and Social Care Secretary, Matt Hancock, on his vision and approach for technology in healthcare. The first meeting of the HealthTech Advisory Board took place on the 19th November 2018, in a bid to transform technology in the NHS.
During their meetings, the board will meet to discuss methods that the NHS can use to harness technology and innovation. These will be ways that both reduce the workload of NHS workers but also to improve patient care and outcomes. The board will then liaise directly with Matt Hancock to share advice and initiatives.
The roles of the board include helping with policy creating, being a sounding board for new ideas and challenging decision making. Dr Ben Goldacre has been chosen to chair the HealthTech Advisory Board. Currently, Dr Ben Goldacre runs DataLab at the University of Oxford.
About the board, Dr Goldacre said; “I am delighted that Matt Hancock has created this board to inject challenge and diverse expertise around better use of data, evidence and technology in healthcare.”
Dr Goldacre will be joined by 12 other panellists including a Professor of Innovation and Technology Management at Imperial College London, David Gann, and the CEO of the NHS Digital Academy, Rachel Dunscombe. Discover who else is on the board here.
The panel of 13 will meet once a quarter to assist the government with their plans to overhaul technology in the NHS and healthcare setting.
Discussing the creation of the HealthTech Advisory Board, Matt Hancock said; “The new future-focused HealthTech Advisory Board will bring together tech experts, clinicians and academics to identify where change needs to happen and be an ideas hub for how we can improve patient outcomes and to make the lives of NHS staff easier.”
