HSJ Health Check Money troubles
Nov 21, 2025
In this episode, Ella Devereux, a Tech Bureau journalist with expertise in digital health, reveals shocking findings about the NHS App notifying patients of cancer diagnoses before clinicians do. Zoe Tidman, a Health Finance reporter, discusses NHS financial challenges, including changes to deficit support and pressing budget constraints faced by trusts. The conversation highlights the complex balance between patient autonomy in accessing medical data and the traditional role of clinicians in delivering sensitive information. It’s an enlightening look at the intersection of technology and healthcare finance.
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App Reveals Process Failures
- The NHS App is revealing process failures by showing results in real time before clinicians contact patients.
- Automatic result release exposes gaps in local workflows and patient support, not just a tech bug.
Patients Finding Cancer Via The App
- Ella found forum posts where patients saw scan results or referral letters suggesting cancer before any clinician contacted them.
- Cancer Research UK nurses are increasingly the first to tell callers they have cancer after app notifications.
Digital Front Door Amplifies Old Issues
- Many contributors noted this problem pre-dates the NHS App, with letters historically arriving before clinicians contacted patients.
- The app simply amplifies an existing communication weakness rather than creating it.