Access denied: Socioeconomic inequalities in digital health services (Ada Lovelace Institute, September 2023)

Summary

Data-driven health systems is the term we use to refer to technologies that collect, process, and analyse data about people to present health information in new ways, make predictions, or reach a particular outcome. 

Over three years, the Ada Lovelace Institute, in partnership with the Health Foundation, explored how the accelerated adoption of data-driven systems and digital health services interact with health inequalities in the UK.

Content

An analysis of the interviews that the peer researchers conducted revealed findings along three broad themes:

• Access to digital healthcare: participants found digital health services could make access to care more difficult and create a barrier to communication with health professionals.
• How health data is used: participants reported concerns about fragmented data records and data that was not representative of their lived experience.
• Seeing digital health services as part of a broader context: participants routinely cited wider concerns around the NHS, including underfunding, workforce strain and the perceived incursion of private organisations in the health service as a reason for scepticism about new digital health services or data sharing projects. This theme also covers regional variation in digital workforce skills and resources, which could mean some areas benefit from digital transformation while others are left behind.

Read the report in full via the link below.