Digital health tools such as apps, telehealth services and wearables are transforming healthcare by increasingly accessibility and helping people to better engage with their health.
Fueled by Covid lockdowns and the health tracking trend, digital health tools are increasingly relied upon by public health systems including the NHS.
This week has seen an escalation in efforts to further embed the technology into the health service.
On Monday, the UK’s The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) issued new guidance to help manufacturers meet UK medical devices regulations and ensure digital mental health technologies are effective, reliable and acceptably safe.
The new guidance provides manufacturers with clarity on how medical devices regulations apply to software, which products are regulated, how they are assessed and what evidence is required.
The guidance, the MHRA says, will give people more confidence in the safety and efficacy of digital mental health tools.
Rob Reid is Deputy Director of Innovative Devices at the MHRA.
He said: “Effective and acceptably safe digital tools have huge potential to improve mental health support, making help more accessible than ever.
“This new guidance aims to support safe access to these important tools by clarifying when a product needs regulatory approval and the steps developers must take.
“Maintaining clear and proportionate regulatory standards will ensure that the public can trust these technologies and benefit from the safe, effective mental health support they can provide.”
Accessibility remains a significant barrier to the NHS reaping the benefits of the digital health revolution.
NHS England research shows around 10 million UK adults lack foundation-level digital skills while older people, the homeless community and disabled people are at risk of digital exclusion.
NHS England is teaming up with public libraries in an effort to tackle digital health exclusion and reduce health inequalities.
The health body recently provided guidance on how community libraries can help people can set up an NHS account and use the NHS App, which many primary care services now rely on for patient appointments and prescription ordering.
The guidance also provides promotional materials, online resources for trusted health advice, where visitors can find out about conditions, symptoms and treatments, including what to do and when to get help.
A blog by Dr Vin Diwakar and Professor Bola Owolabi revealed that 43 per cent of adults in England struggle with low health literacy, rising to 61 per cent when the information includes numbers as well as words.
They wrote: “Digital exclusion is now recognised as a social determinant of health, meaning it directly affects a person’s ability to look after their wellbeing.
“It’s closely linked to another important factor: health literacy.
“Health literacy isn’t just about being able to read – it’s about having the skills, knowledge, and confidence to access, understand and use health information.”
While govenment and health leaders increasingly push for a more digitally-enabled health service, perennial financial constraints remain a significant hurdle.
An NHS Providers survey published late last year found that 73 per cent of trust leaders believe funding and financial constriants to be the biggest barrier to digital transformaiton.
Meanwhile, 50 per cent cited operational pressures impacting clinical training and adoption of technology while 38 per cent cite inadequate infrastructure, such as poor wi-fi.
Saffron Cordery, deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, said that outdated technology often actually increases clinician workload and hinders efficiency and productivity.
Cordery said: “Digital transformation has huge potential to give patients better access to their data, better access to care and to ensure that staff can get the reliable information they need to inform decision-making and improve quality of care.
“The NHS is under huge strain and chronic underinvestment in digital technology, particularly in community, mental health and social care systems, has left a worrying legacy.
“We need the government to work with trusts and NHS leaders to remove barriers and to help the health service transform healthcare.”
