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This article is part of our Opinions section, where we invite industry professionals to share their views on the most pressing technology questions of our time.
Since its foundation in 1948, the NHS has generated and stored an extraordinary volume of valuable patient information. Yet, despite the drive toward intuitive healthcare system and digital transformation, today, a significant amount of this data remains in paper form. It is unstructured and difficult to access at speed, and this fragmentation can hinder care delivery and operational efficiency across the entire system.
While the promise of “digital transformation” envisages better-informed, faster and safer healthcare, the reality can often feel very different on the ground. But concerns of complex or poorly designed interfaces, unfamiliar systems and inconsistent training (which risk undermining the experience of both clinicians and patients) must be addressed and resolved.
Digital literacy varies broadly across the NHS – and will continue to do so for some time yet. While some clinicians adapt quickly to new technologies and embrace tools with ease, others may find it harder to engage, particularly if systems appear designed for IT departments and not the frontline healthcare teams using them every day.
Similarly, these challenges apply to patients, whose comfort with digital technology can impact confidence with appointment scheduling or accessing follow-up care, for example.
Thankfully, as the NHS pushes on in its drive for digital maturity, there’s now an increasing recognition for simplistic and intuitive design, which is essential at every touchpoint.
There is a pressing need for systems that reflect the reality of fast-paced work in bustling clinical environments, where time is at a premium and pressure is persistent. When technology is built specifically around the needs of those using it (and, importantly, with a dedicated eye on the impact on frontline care), it becomes an enabler of better decision-making, more efficient processes and improved patient outcomes.
The focus must now shift to usability and accessibility, and be thoroughly informed by clinical experience. This is critical to bridging the digital literacy gap.
Part of the challenge lies in the sheer scale and diversity of the NHS workforce. Each role has distinct digital needs, along with varying access to training. Despite access to national-level initiatives, such as the NHS Digital Academy, amid the institution’s admirable plans for digital maturity across trusts, training and ongoing support often don’t go deep enough.
The result is clinicians feeling unsupported when new systems are rolled out – particularly if the design of these interfaces fails to meet the pressures of real-world care environments.
Even the most forward-thinking hospitals, with rapidly advancing transformation strategies, will experience varying levels of digital maturity from one department to the next. This necessitates a carefully considered and evidence-backed implementation plan if clinicians are to realise, and adapt to, the benefits of such transformative technology.
Therefore, for digital transformation to succeed, and for the “10 Year Health Plan For England” to seize every opportunity to deliver better care, all technologies in use must be inclusive. Systems must be designed in a way that accommodates both ends of the digital literacy spectrum.
A barrier to successful digital adoption may be found in the complexity of many existing systems. If digital tools are difficult to navigate thanks to a lack of signposting or discoverable features and information, for example, they will slow down (rather than streamline) patient care.
Given the nature of the setting in which they are used – where time is limited and decision-making often critical – this can be particularly damaging. A system requiring multiple clicks to access top-level patient information, or one that requires clinicians to pivot between disconnected platforms, is far from efficient for these highly pressured teams.
Design flaws such as these can often stem from systems built without significant clinical input. An interface may be technically sound from a development perspective, but if it doesn’t reflect the pace and structure of a clinical workflow, it can introduce more problems than solutions. Overly complex or unintuitive platforms will disrupt established clinical workflows and may induce stress where it simply shouldn’t be.
Adequate integration with existing legacy systems is also a crucial consideration. Surpassing integration challenges and ensuring digital tools effectively communicate with one another is vital for a truly interoperable healthcare environment. If digital platforms are confusing or unreliable, they will erode trust from healthcare providers and clinicians and discourage engagement. In an environment in which every single interaction matters, the cost of complexity in these tools is measured in time and stress – and so we must get this right.
As the NHS continues its shift from paper-based systems, tools including electronic patient records (EPRs) and electronic document management systems (EDMSs) have become the bedrock of care delivery. In unison, these systems provide a stronger foundation for a truly integrated digital healthcare system – improving access to information, enabling more joined-up care, and improving patient outcomes with faster, better-informed decision-making.
Their success, however, depends not simply on technical capability, but on usability. When intuitive and aligned with clinical workflows, they accelerate digital adoption and ease the requirement for such detailed and time-consuming training on an already stretched workforce. Furthermore, they enable healthcare professionals with varying levels of digital literacy to engage meaningfully with technology.
Intuitively designed systems wholly support clinicians in delivering frontline care, instead of distracting from it. They require less training, reduce time spent searching for information, and help minimise errors by presenting data neatly and logically.
This inclusivity is crucial to successful rollouts of EPRs and EDMSs across NHS trusts.
In designing systems around the real needs of their users, organisations will build platforms that feel like clinical tools and have the potential to be embedded seamlessly into everyday working. Clinician involvement in the design, procurement, and implementation of digital healthcare systems is no longer optional – it’s essential.
When technology is shaped by the people who use it daily, it is embraced readily and will therefore perform better. Informed and intuitive design is a key driver for adoption.
The government has announced a key target for the NHS in England to reduce waiting times for elective care – aiming for 92% of waits to be within 18 weeks by the end of parliament (2029). The NHS’s digital transformation strategy is designed to help trusts to achieve this, and the implementation of intuitive systems will be a key facilitator as all look to meet these targets.
Designing for digital inclusion will be critical in the coming years. Digital transformation will only succeed if systems are not only technically robust but designed with the very people who use them in mind. Whether it is an EPR, EDMS, or any other system core to clinicians’ work, simplicity in design leads directly to wider adoption, increased engagement, improved workflows, maximised resources, and, ultimately, revolutionised patient experiences.
As trusts continue to invest in technology, feature-heavy systems must take a backseat. Instead, the focus must be on simplistic and user-centric solutions that are genuinely usable across all levels of the workforce. This entails selecting the right partners, embedding clinical voices into every stage of development, and emphasising a need for technology that works for clinicians and not the other way around.
Intuitive systems in this environment are not just helpful – they are an urgent necessity for delivering informed and efficient frontline care.
