On the face of it, the UK’s digital health economy is in robust health. The industry and media buzzword for the industry – health tech – refers to the incorporation of technology in facilitating the delivery, payment and development of healthcare services. Healthtech is now the second biggest sub-set of the UK tech sector after Fintech and there are more than 100 health tech companies that are on track to become $1bn businesses. According to TechNation, the UK health tech sector has attracted $7.7bn (£6.2bn) from global venture capital investors over the past five years. The companies in the sector have a combined turnover of £24 billion and employ more than 127,400 people across 3,860 businesses.

Meanwhile, the Covid-19 pandemic has super-charged digital transformation and innovation across the healthcare sector. The NHS has been forced to adopt new ways of working and digital technologies on a scale never seen before and at a pace never imagined. Matthew Gould, chief executive of NHSX, reflecting at a recent summit on the pandemic and its impact said, “The shift on remote consultations was extraordinary. At the start of the year, we reckon about three per cent of GP surgeries had the capability to do online consultations, we think it’s close to 99 per cent now.”

This accelerated digital transformation marks a clear opportunity for the sector and for those companies which are well-placed to supply innovative tools and solutions. Lyndon Johnson, co-founder of 8foldGovernance says, “SMEs and start-ups provide so much value compared to the big multinationals. Everyone from IBM to Cerner should be disrupted.”

The research and insight team at Sussex Innovation have prepared a white paper on this fast-changing space on behalf of 8foldGovernance, a one-stop-shop for digital health technology companies providing expert guidance and high-quality services in security, safety, quality and commercial governance. You can read more about why building a compliance culture is vital for the success of the UK’s digital health economy by accessing the full report here.