Your morning summary of digital health news, information and events to know about if you want to be “in the know”.
👇 News
💊 Pharmacy2U’s new app and web platform is the UK’s first to combine pharmacy, GP, NHS, vet and wellness services from a single digital destination. New features include the ability to track orders, appointments and deliveries, with the capability to check availability of medicines coming soon.
🤝 Health Innovation Manchester signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 25 February 2025 with the Government of Telangana in India, for a joint commitment to fostering economic growth and innovation in shared healthcare challenges. The new alliance will facilitate the exchange of knowledge and resources and aims to support both regions in developing cutting-edge products, treatments, diagnostics and digital tools.
📝 London-based telehealth company QuestPrehab has signed a contract with Saudi Arabian tech company Zension Technologies to provide digital prehabilitation services to its workers. The services are designed to improve the general health and activity of patients before surgery or treatment as a way of aiding their recovery. The partnership forms part of QuestPrehab’s international expansion.
🏥 Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has opened its Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC), the last of three outpatient imaging facilities built as part of a programme to deliver CDCs at each of the trust’s three hospitals. The centre will offer ultrasound, X-ray, CT and MR scanning and will be open between 8am-8pm seven days a week. The CDC anticipates seeing 430 patients a day once at full capacity.
📱 Endometriosis management app Endo45 is now available in the UK. The app offers symptom tracking and personalised lifestyle recommendations that aim to offer women a way to proactively manage their condition while they wait for care. Endo45 covers four key body systems disrupted by endometriosis: immune, gastrointestinal, hepatic and nervous. The app launched in the UK on 1 March and is also available in Australia and New Zealand.
❓ Did you know?
NHS staff face an average of five hours of additional work or delays every week due to inefficient manual processes, according to data from cloud company Appian.
A survey of 1,000 UK public sector workers, including 242 NHS staff, conducted in October and November 2024 found that 95% face “unnecessary hurdles” in delivering services.
Repetitive manual tasks, outdated legacy systems and insufficient training were cited as the top three blockers. Appian said these delays equated 7.5 million hours of extra work per week across the UK’s 1.5 million-strong NHS workforce.
Seven in 10 (69%) respondents said they believed that automating repetitive tasks would simplify their jobs and improve outcomes, while 95% reported benefits of using workflow or process automation tools, such as enhanced productivity and improved communication.
Peter Corpe, industry leader, UK public sector at Appian, said: “With elective care waiting lists at an all-time high, productivity is an urgent priority. With pressure to do more with less, the research shows that NHS workers are challenged with legacy technology which hinders their ability to drive efficiency.”
📖 What we’re reading
The HealthTech Insights report from Cavendish, published in February 2025, explores the impact AI is having on healthcare efficiency and patient outcomes, noting the value of AI in global healthcare is expected to reach $348bn (£271bn) by 2032. As the applications for AI in healthcare continue to grow, Cavendish anticipates an expanding number of AI health tech startups securing venture funding.
It also highlights how the UK lags behind its US counterparts in regulation, where approval timelines are just 90 days, in comparison to the UK’s 2.5 years. It notes that government steps are being planned to expand the network of approved bodies for approvals, including an intent to allow international regulators to streamline new technology into the UK healthcare market.
🚨 Upcoming events
18–19 March, NEC Birmingham — Digital Health Rewired 2025