Adoption and spread of innovation and technology in the NHS We're supporting the change, not just the technology.

COVID-19 has turbo-charged the use of technology across the NHS. Whilst there is a wealth of opportunities to help the NHS meet rising demand through innovation and technology, it’s important to see them as enablers of change rather than ends in themselves.
There are many promising ideas, but one of the key challenges is the effective adoption of these ideas at scale. Over the last 15 years, we’ve learned a great deal from our research and frontline programmes about how clinical teams adopt and spread new ideas and technology.
We know that success depends on adapting an innovation to the local context, and it involves paying attention to the human as well as the technical issues when embedding any change.
Featured content
Blog
Harnessing the potential of automation and AI in health care
Tim Horton and Tom Hardie set out 15 recommendations to help policymakers and the NHS get the best...
Event
Webinar: Tech and NHS recovery – what you should know
How can technological innovation help speed the recovery of the NHS and sustain high quality care in...
Adopting innovation
In 2021, the Health Foundation launched a new programme to build knowledge, skills and confidence within NHS providers to successfully adopt and adapt innovations. We’ve funded four hubs to act as centres of expertise and support within provider organisations to help them, and their local health systems, become better adopters of innovation.
Programme
Adopting Innovation
A programme supporting health care providers to create the conditions that will enable faster and...
News
Four innovation hubs to be established as part of the Health Foundation’s programme to improve the adoption of health care improvements
Four areas have been selected to be part of a new programme supporting health care providers to...
Automation and AI in health care
Our report, Switched on, explores the opportunities for automation and artificial intelligence (AI) in health care and the challenges of deploying them in practice. It considers how these technologies might affect work in health care and outlines the actions needed to make the most of them in future.
Research report
Switched on
Analysis exploring the opportunities for automation and AI in health care and the challenges of...
Infographic
How do we get the best out of automation and AI in health care?
Automation and AI present many opportunities for improving care and supporting the NHS to increase...
Technology and COVID-19
The pandemic turbo-charged the speed of innovation in the NHS – ‘from 6 years to 6 weeks’. In this area of work, we explore what we have learned and ask what are the NHS's priorities for technological innovation, and can we do better in identifying them?
Long read
Securing a positive health care technology legacy from COVID-19
About 21 mins to read
During the pandemic, the NHS has rolled out technologies at impressive speed. But what will need...
Chart
Patients and machines: does technology help or hinder empathy and person-centred care?
Tim Horton and Tom Hardie explore empathy and person-centredness in the context of technology and AI...
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