Official figures confirmed that the NHS came under severe pressure during the heatwave, with A&E and other emergency attendances up, and performance on A&E targets down. NHS Digital told staff that it was embarking on yet another round of restructuring, to cope with falling budgets and changing demands; and that hundreds of jobs could be at risk. Over in the US, the White House held a ‘blue button 2.0’ expo, in a bid to get patient pathway and claims data into the blue button initiative. Major tech cos used the event to ‘commit’ themselves to interoperability; although details were thin on the ground. More concretely, tech site Gizmodo showed off details of the new NHS App, Wales ramped up use of Patients Know Best, and care homes in Sheffield started using Inhealthcare Professional to share vital signs details with hospital teams. And Moorfields Eye Hospital announced an AI breakthrough with DeepMind Health.
Healthcare Roundup 17 August 2018
