IT Services Opportunities with the NHS: Patient Care and Advanced Technologies | Sherpas in Blue Shirts
It should come as no surprise that global services activity in the U.K. has dropped significantly in all sectors in the aftermath of the Brexit referendum. Indeed, according to our Transaction Intelligence database of sourcing deals, in the healthcare space, the U.K.’s National Health Service (NHS) awarded 13 outsourcing deals in 2015, 11 in 2016, but only four in the first half of 2017.
However, our research indicates that the policy of patient-centric care introduced by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in 2012 is likely to drive ample long-term opportunities for innovative IT service providers that offer technology enablers.
For example, under the NHS’s RightCare initiative, the NHS may look to accelerate the adoption of value-based care. Funding is focused on allocative value (how well assets are distributed to different areas of healthcare), technical value (how well resources are used to achieve valid outcomes), and personalized value (determined by how well an outcome matches patient expectation). Additionally, with increasing demand for telemedicine, NHS trusts will be on the lookout for providers that develop mobile applications aimed at remote healthcare management to support the growing importance of care at home for chronic conditions.
A robust cybersecurity network is equally imperative in the wake of recent instances of data breaches such as the March 2017 WannaCry attack, in which the medical records of 26 million NHS patients were hacked. Service providers can help the NHS protect its IT infrastructure from malicious cyber attacks by offering threat intelligence solutions, threat detection and mitigation applications, Blockchain-powered Electronic Health Records (EHRs), and persona-based security platforms.
While third-party providers can profit from these long-term opportunities, they need to be cognizant of the changing competitor landscape, particularly from tech start-ups that are testing the waters to realize potential demand in the U.K. healthcare sector. For instance, DeepMind, a London-based artificial intelligence start-up, worked with the NHS in 2016 on technology to improve care coordination.
To take advantage of growing consumerism in the U.K. healthcare space – e.g., e-Referral and e-Consult services – we recommend that IT service providers increase their investments in growing technological areas such as security, mobility, analytics, and IoT. But first and foremost, they must offer services that focus on patient care. Doing so would help the NHS avoid a repeat of its failed National Programme for IT, which was aimed at cost savings and efficiency, but was abandoned after nine years at a cost of £10 billion in 2011.
We will continue to watch this space and actively share our thoughts and perspectives. In the meantime, you can stay up-to-date on our latest insights in the healthcare domain through our dedicated research on the Healthcare & Life Sciences sector.
