Prevention is the new cure 64. Tony Blair Institute on the NHS App
Aug 6, 2025
Charlotte Refsum, Director of Health Policy at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, discusses the transformative potential of the NHS App in healthcare delivery. She highlights the integration of patient records and compares the NHS’s digital capabilities to private sector innovations. The conversation also touches on groundbreaking obesity treatments and the ongoing challenges facing the NHS amid strikes and leadership changes. Additionally, Charlotte shares insights into drug education, safety at festivals, and global efforts to tackle plastic pollution.
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Life-saving Drug Checking Service
- The Loop drug checking service has saved many lives by informing people what substances they have received at festivals.
- A tragic death of a 22-year-old at Boomtown highlighted the dangers of unchecked drug trade at festivals without such services.
NHS App Must Integrate Patient Data
- The NHS App should integrate tightly with the single patient record to transform healthcare experience.
- Without this integration, both risk becoming costly, underused digital utilities lacking patient value.
Productivity Paradox in Health Tech
- Digital health tools often reduce productivity initially by just digitizing old inefficient processes.
- Breakthroughs in productivity come when technology enables new ways of prevention and patient-managed care pathways.