Health 2.0 Europe 2014

DrDoctor were proud to present at Health 2.0 2014. It was a fascinating opportunity to see what the best and brightest in international healthcare are up to.

As always, there are a range of very bright guys working in very specific vertical niches. These products often shine with brilliant utility, or beautiful design, but often miss the mark in today’s healthcare environment. They're a little early. What we still need is robust solutions to connect what we already have and bring quick, obvious value to providers and patients.

The well-funded products, like Babylon, stand out with their dramatic play to provide 'a hospital in an app'. The concept of which is brilliant, as it appears is the execution. However, even priced at 'Free', there is an uphill struggle for traction in the UK with our culture of high quality NHS provision. A change in how the nation thinks about healthcare is needed before they become widespread. Plus, the Babylon app repeatedly crashes on my Nexus 5, so for now we're still seeing our local GP!

Kaiser Permanente impressed with a powerful narrative on their inexorable rise to the top of US healthcare rankings. Focus on quality, integrated care and modern management are key. Their session left us all with some serious contemplation, and to my surprise (and delight!) I felt there were a few things the NHS could learn from how they work.

At DrDoctor, we continue to work towards a best of breed hospital, where a mix of SMEs, large companies and the NHS come together to provide value and best practice. For us that means continuing to develop relationships with other suppliers, talking interoperability and sharing market opportunities.

A truly innovative, successful health economy needs everyone in it to pull together, share new ways of working and product knowledge to drive progress. Health 2.0 and events like it provide a powerful catalyst for that change.  I urge anyone think about attending to do so, and to apply for speaking slots!