About the Digital Coalition

Our purpose

As the first of its kind, the Patient Coalition for AI, Data and Digital Tech in Health, established in 2021, unites a truly diverse group of patient groups, charities, Royal Colleges, NHS England and industry with a focus on championing the patient perspective in digital health.

Involving patients in policy

Currently, not enough is being done to ensure that patients are included in the evolving policy discussions surrounding the development, implementation or evaluation of digital health technologies in the UK. In fact, there is limited understanding of what patients actually want from digital health. The danger is that these technologies end up as something done ‘to’ patients rather than ‘with’ and ‘for’ them.

In addition to providing a forum for discussion, this Coalition will act as an independent campaigning coalition, taking forward joint pieces of work and engaging actively to help influence Government and NHS policy on the use of digital technology in healthcare. The goal will be to ensure patient interests are at the forefront of ongoing policy discussions surrounding digital health technology, and being incorporated into the policymaking process. The goal is to cultivate the necessary policy conditions to enable the UK to capitalise on new digital health technologies to the benefit of patients and the NHS.

Coalition agenda

The Coalition will work to provide insights and influence the policymaking process to progress this agenda by:

Identifying gaps in the evidence and conducting research to offer novel insights on patient priorities in digital health
Developing policy recommendations
Engaging with Government stakeholders and other policymakers to advocate and campaign for system improvements.

Our manifesto

Read our manifesto, including how we plan to put the patient first ensuring that patient priorities lie at the heart of digital health policy.

Read our reports

Digital Health during the Covid-19 Pandemic: Learning Lessons to Maintain Momentum.

Putting patients first: championing good practice in combatting digital health inequalities,

Coalition Chair

The Patients Association

Sponsor

Boehringer Ingelheim

Secretariat

The Patients Association. For more information about the Coalition, please contact us at [email protected].

Latest

Developing GP practice groups

We've been working with patient participation groups in Hertfordshire and West Essex for more than a year now. In this workshop, the team review progress to date.
Patients Association statement on planned strike action by junior doctors

Festive season strikes will strike fear into patients waiting for care. We urge both parties to return to talks.
Understanding changes in primary care: your wider general practice team

In this webinar, we’ll look at some of the new professionals patients may see in general practice, such as social prescriber, paramedic and mental health practitioner.
Changes in primary care, understanding the role of the reception team

We had a great panel join us to talk about the plan to recover access to primary care and talk about the new reception team.

New report demonstrates the importance of working with patients to reduce digital health inequalities

The latest report by the Patient Coalition for AI, Data and Digital Tech in Health, Putting Patients First, shows how important it is to work with patients who are digitally excluded.
Members of the Digital Coalition

The UK charities and Royal Colleges who are part of the Patient Coalition for AI, Data and Digital Tech in Health.
First report from the Patient Coalition for AI, Data and Digital Tech in Health

Uptake of digital health technology during the COVID-19 pandemic was limited. Patient experience of digital tools was mixed, finds the first report from the Digital Coalition.