Digital Innovation

This programme contributes to the overarching objectives of facilitating the adoption of digital innovation into the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (OUH) and ensuring our processes are optimal to lead new approaches into the Trust’s innovation decision-making. Our connections to the broader ecosystem developed through our other programmes, mean we are aware of digital innovations available in the broader ecosystem and are able to match these to identified needs.

TheHill supports OUH through our digital innovation programme, it ties in to the Trust’s strategy through our aims to:

• Identify start-up, companies and internal NHS innovations which have the potential for adoption into OUH
• Ensure these digital innovations meet the needs identified within OUH and NHS with sufficient data to demonstrate that they do
• Pilot innovations through the stages of presentation to the Innovation Panel
• Facilitate the establishment of pilots and research collaborations as approved by TAG, R&D and procurement at OUH.

TheHill’s Digital Innovation Programme provides a range of benefits to companies:

1. Product assessment to assist companies understand their product better

The pipeline process enables TheHill to assist companies assess their technology, and identify gaps and things they need to do – be it technical compliance or integration, or areas they may not have thought about in terms of design aspects, and also use cases for how the product might be used in different scenarios.

2. Understanding what the NHS requires in terms of compliance

Companies do not always appreciate the kinds of hurdles they will be required to negotiate to demonstrate they, or their innovation is suitable for the NHS to be procured. This can be particularly true of non-UK companies. This varies depending on the product, but with the UK adopting own alternative C-mark shortly, there are implications which TheHill is in a position to offer advice on. More importantly though is the issue of software compliance – the Data Security and Protection Toolkit and the Digital Technology Assessment Criteria (DTAC) are two compliance areas we can provide advice on.

3. Assessing suitability

Seeing whether they are suitable for OUH; this is where we do the engagement process with the technology and help companies pitch themselves in an appropriate way to stakeholders and through the pipeline process we help them focus their product on the need and make sure when that when that first engagement happens it is going to be as successful as it can be.