Building the case for adoption: insights from Digital Health Rewired

What interested me

The event showcased a diverse range of innovations, many of which were entirely new to me. Engaging directly with innovators was particularly insightful—not only was their passion for their technologies evident, but so too was their understanding of how these solutions could be effectively integrated into care pathways to improve patient outcomes.

The event covered key areas such as artificial intelligence, digital transformation, integrated care and cyber infrastructure. It felt well balanced and grounded in real-world challenges.

What I learned

A key takeaway was that successful adoption of innovation in healthcare consistently depends on three critical components:

1. A clearly defined clinical need.
2. Robust evaluation of the existing care pathway.
3. The generation of real-world evidence to demonstrate both benefits and barriers to adoption.

Without these in place, even strong technologies struggle to move beyond pilot stages.

In conversations with innovators, it was clear that one or more of these elements was often missing. This creates real challenges when trying to move from idea to adoption.

Designing digital care for real people

A standout session was the panel on designing digital care for real people, delivered by my colleague Mamta Bajre alongside Dr Lia Ali, Dr Chris Agape Ajah, Jessica Jarvis, and Angela Maragna.

Dr Lia Ali opened the discussion by exploring the role of psychiatry in the implementation of digital health innovations, introducing the “5 Cs”: Context, Connection, Creation, Care, and Complexity. Jessica Jarvis followed with a case study from Mental Health Innovations, highlighting a digital solution designed for children aged 13 and under—an area where demand for mental health services is rapidly increasing. Dr Chris Agape Ajah emphasised the importance of partnership in designing effective solutions, while Dr Mamta Bajre concluded by underscoring the critical role of real-world evidence in moving innovations from ideation to adoption. As digital health technologies continue to evolve, generating robust evidence remains essential for informing decision-making within the NHS.

What stood out most was the strong alignment across the panel: improving patient-centred care requires collective action. From a health economics perspective, the emphasis on stakeholder insight was particularly compelling. Understanding real-world value, economic impact, and return on investment is crucial in guiding decisions about which innovations to adopt and scale.

Ultimately, the session reinforced a key principle—digital care is only effective when it works for real people within real-world systems.

Pictured: Dr Mamta Bajre, Head of Health Economics and Methodology and HIOTV, presenting at Digital Health Rewired

Build the case for adoption

Many innovations struggle to get adopted by the NHS because the need is not clearly defined or the evidence is not strong enough.

As a health economist at Health Innovation Oxford and Thames Valley, my team specialises in health economic evaluations and the generation of real-world evidence. We support innovators to understand the care pathway, build a clear economic case and generate the evidence needed for NHS decision-making. This includes early evidence generation, feasibility of technologies and real-world evaluations.

We work across the full innovation pathway, from identifying need through to supporting adoption and scale.

Whether you are developing an early idea or preparing for adoption, we can help you take the next step.

Get in touch: info@healthinnovationoxford.org