Healthcare and NHS IT

IT is becoming increasingly critical for healthcare delivery. Vital initiatives such as electronic medical records, patient administration systems and telehealth are receiving growing investment in the NHS and elsewhere. Key technologies such as mobile, tablets and cloud are also essential for improving the healthcare industry with digital healthcare technology. Read the latest news about NHS IT and find resources on the broader world of healthcare IT with the news, case studies and advice in this topic section.

News 03 Jan 2024
Artificial intelligence to the front in Sweden’s National Technology Strategy

Sweden focuses in on artificial intelligence in its latest far-reaching national IT strategy Continue Reading
Feature 25 Oct 2023
Finland shows off its new 20-qubit quantum computer

Anybody who scoffs at Finland’s lofty ambitions in the field of quantum computing should remember that not only is the country home to one of Europe's most successful companies (Nokia), but it also houses Europe’s most powerful supercomputer (LUMI). Continue Reading

News 07 Feb 2024

NCSC warns CNI operators over ‘living-off-the-land’ attacks

Malicious, state-backed actors may well be lurking in the UK’s most critical networks right now, and their operators may not even know until it is too late, warn the NCSC and its partners Continue Reading
Opinion 07 Feb 2024

Security Think Tank: The phishing forecast for 2024

Egress' Jack Chapman and James Dyer explore how phishing attacks are set to grow in their scope and sophistication this year, with generative AI playing a big role Continue Reading
News 06 Feb 2024

UK’s McPartland Cyber Review to probe trust in technology

The UK government has launched a cyber security review that will investigate how best to give businesses the confidence they need to use new technologies Continue Reading
E-Zine 06 Feb 2024

Generative AI – an early adopter’s experience

In this week’s Computer Weekly, as IT leaders start to implement GenAI in their organisations, we look at the experiences of one early adopter. Our latest buyer’s guide examines the key security trends for 2024. And Microsoft’s head of identity talks about a future without passwords. Read the issue now. Continue Reading
News 25 Jan 2024

Bugcrowd sees surge in vulnerability submissions, led by public sector

Crowdsourced vulnerability disclosure and bug bounty platform Bugcrowd says it saw a 151% uptick in submissions related to government and public sector organisations in 2023 Continue Reading
News 25 Jan 2024

Tony Blair Institute calls for creation of NHS Data Trust

The NHS would have a majority stake in the data trust, with additional investment from private sector companies, harnessing anonymised data as a competitive asset, proposes the think thank Continue Reading
News 24 Jan 2024

WebKit vulnerability sparks Apple’s first major security update of 2024

A zero-day in the open source WebKit browser engine that powers Safari has sparked Apple’s first major patch roll-out of the new year Continue Reading
News 24 Jan 2024

AI will heighten global ransomware threat, says NCSC

The benefits of artificial intelligence to cyber criminals being well-known, the NCSC now assesses it’s likely AI will soon be widely used to enhance ransomware attacks Continue Reading
News 23 Jan 2024

Treat cyber risk like financial or legal issue, says UK government

UK government and NCSC launch proposed code of practice on cyber security governance to help directors and business leaders toughen their defences Continue Reading
News 23 Jan 2024

Leak of 26 billion records may prove to be ‘mother of all breaches’

The discovery of a dataset comprising 26 billion stolen records may prove to be record-breaking in both its size and the danger it poses to ordinary people Continue Reading
Feature 17 Jan 2024

Biometric revolution in IAM: The future of authentication

The IAM landscape is experiencing profound change thanks to the advent of biometrics. Learn about the latest advantages and key benefits of biometrics in identity Continue Reading
Opinion 16 Jan 2024

The human toll of ransomware: how IT pros suffer during incidents

Any ransomware attack causes significant challenges for a business or organisation going through such incident. But ransomware attacks also have tremendous impact on the staff – especially IT teams – working on mitigating the attack’s effect Continue Reading
News 15 Jan 2024

IT failure caused weekend chaos at Sussex hospitals

The critical incident at University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust, caused by IT issues on Sunday night, has now been resolved Continue Reading
News 11 Jan 2024

MHRA launches roadmap for medtech regulations

The roadmap covers plans for regulations on medical technologies, including implantable devices, artificial intelligence and healthcare software, with core elements of a new framework to be in place by 2025 Continue Reading
News 11 Jan 2024

Cisco fixes high-impact flaw in unified comms platform

Cisco unified comms customers are urged to patch a critical vulnerability in Unity Connection, a messaging and voicemail product Continue Reading
News 10 Jan 2024

Windows Kerberos, Hyper-V vulns among January Patch Tuesday bugs

Microsoft starts 2024 right with another slimline Patch Tuesday drop, but there are some critical vulns to be alert to, including a number of man-in-the-middle attack vectors Continue Reading
News 09 Jan 2024

Babuk Tortilla ransomware decryptor made available

A joint effort between Cisco Talos, Avast and the Dutch police will bring relief to many victims of a variant of the Babuk ransomware known as Tortilla Continue Reading
News 09 Jan 2024

Wales makes headway with electronic prescriptions roll-out

Electronic prescribing will be deployed in both primary and secondary care, while a shared medicines record will be live by the end of March 2024 Continue Reading
News 08 Jan 2024

Government to push NHS roll-out of digital pathology

Department for Health and Social Care wants to increase use of digital pathology in cancer screening, following a recommendation by the UK National Screening Committee Continue Reading
News 03 Jan 2024

Artificial intelligence to the front in Sweden’s National Technology Strategy

Sweden focuses in on artificial intelligence in its latest far-reaching national IT strategy Continue Reading
Feature 28 Dec 2023

Decoding zero trust in endpoint security: A practical guide for CISOs

The exponential increase in endpoints has vastly expanded the average organisation’s attack surface – address this by applying zero-trust best practice to endpoints Continue Reading
News 21 Dec 2023

Top 10 cyber crime stories of 2023

Ransomware gangs dominated the cyber criminal underworld in 2023, a year that will prove notable for significant evolutionary trends in their tactics Continue Reading
Opinion 20 Dec 2023

Beyond the office walls: Safeguarding remote workers from attack

Remote working has enabled people to work from almost anywhere but has piled pressure on cyber pros. Three years after Covid, how are best practices evolving and what can we expect going forward? Continue Reading
Opinion 20 Dec 2023

Zero-trust principles: Your gateway to securing remote workers

Remote working has enabled people to work from almost anywhere but has piled pressure on cyber pros. Three years after Covid, how are best practices evolving and what can we expect going forward? Continue Reading
Opinion 20 Dec 2023

Evolving best practice: What next for securing remote work?

Remote working has enabled people to work from almost anywhere but has piled pressure on cyber pros. Three years after Covid, how are best practices evolving and what can we expect going forward? Continue Reading
News 20 Dec 2023

ALPHV/BlackCat operation down, but maybe not out

Multinational law enforcement has targeted the operations of the notorious ALPHV/BlackCat cyber extortion gang, but the group’s members appear to remain defiant Continue Reading
Feature 20 Dec 2023

Levelling the playing field: Could a UK cloud strategy weaken the hold of the hyperscalers?

Over time, global hyperscale has taken a majority share of the UK market. How best could the government respond to Ofcom’s review to sustain local industry while best serving customers? Continue Reading
News 20 Dec 2023

Top 10 NHS IT stories of 2023

In the year we said goodbye to NHS Digital, the NHS has made some serious strides in digitising the health service, but many challenges remain. We look back at the stories that made the headlines in 2023 Continue Reading
Opinion 19 Dec 2023

Security Think Tank: Testing to improve remote worker security

Remote working has enabled people to work from almost anywhere but has piled pressure on cyber pros. Three years after Covid, how are best practices evolving and what can we expect going forward? Continue Reading
News 19 Dec 2023

Top 10 information management stories of 2023

Generative AI was inescapable as the leading theme of the information management stories of 2023 gathered here. But also selected are pieces about data and healthcare, and the inexorable rise of the CDO Continue Reading
Opinion 19 Dec 2023

Security Think Tank: Anytime, anywhere access is achievable

Remote working has enabled people to work from almost anywhere but has piled pressure on cyber pros. Three years after Covid, how are best practices evolving and what can we expect going forward? Continue Reading
Feature 18 Dec 2023

Interview: Ex-UKCloud chairman airs economic fears over growing dominance of US hyperscalers

More than a year has passed since UKCloud went into liquidation - its former chairman outlines his concerns about the economic impact of the UK cloud market floundering in the face of the US hyperscalers Continue Reading
News 13 Dec 2023

Microsoft’s Christmas present for cyber teams: no zero-days

Barely 30 vulnerabilities, and no zero-days, have been fixed in the final Patch Tuesday drop of 2023 Continue Reading
News 13 Dec 2023

Critical UK infrastructure a ‘hostage of fortune’ to ransomware

A lack of ransomware planning and preparedness at the highest levels of government is leaving UK operators or critical national infrastructure dangerously exposed, according to a Joint Committee report Continue Reading
News 05 Dec 2023

Majority of GPs now give patients online access to records

NHS England is close to reaching its target of having nine in 10 GPs offering patients access to their primary care records online Continue Reading
News 04 Dec 2023

Rhysida ransomware gang hits hospital holding royal family’s data

Ransomware gang boasts of having stolen data on the royal family in an attack on a private London hospital Continue Reading
News 01 Dec 2023

The Security Interviews: Mark McClain, SailPoint Technologies

SailPoint founder and CEO Mark McClain reflects on how the concept of identity has evolved over the past 20 years, and points to rapid evolution still to come Continue Reading
News 27 Nov 2023

India's Hexaware creates hundreds of jobs in UK

Hexaware opens IT services operation in Birmingham, with a plan to recruit 250 people in the region by 2025 Continue Reading
News 23 Nov 2023

Microsoft bans SME partners from selling its services via government's Cloud Compute 2 framework

Microsoft is under fire after documents leaked to Computer Weekly revealed it has banned reseller partners from selling its services via the government’s soon-to-be launched Cloud Compute 2 framework Continue Reading
News 22 Nov 2023

Palantir awarded NHS FDP data contract

NHS England has awarded a £330m, seven-year contract to US data specialist Palantir, prompting concerns from data privacy practitioners Continue Reading
News 22 Nov 2023

NHS England renews FutureNHS cloud-based collaboration hosting deal via G-Cloud for £1.67m

NHS England has renewed its long-standing hosting and support contract for the FutureNHS platform with SME cloud provider Kahootz Continue Reading
News 20 Nov 2023

NHS England hits 90% target for electronic patient records

Some 90% of trusts in NHS England have adopted electronic patient records in hospitals, ahead of government schedule Continue Reading
Feature 16 Nov 2023

Luxembourg-based cloud provider aims to transform the AI landscape in Europe

Gcore runs cloud services worldwide, which gives it a front-row seat for observing global computing trends, and now the company expects to lead one of the major trends in Europe Continue Reading
News 13 Nov 2023

Rogue state-aligned actors are most critical cyber threat to UK

The prospect of rogue nation-state-aligned attackers bringing down the UK’s critical infrastructure is keeping the NCSC up at night Continue Reading
News 07 Nov 2023

Cornwall Council-run care service to deploy digital care hub

Digital hub will offer council-run Corserv Care an end-to-end care solution, including a physical device, online dashboard and interoperable software Continue Reading
News 06 Nov 2023

Netherlands starts building its own AI language model

Dutch government allocates €13.5m to develop an open artificial intelligence language model according to national values and guidelines. Continue Reading
News 01 Nov 2023

Darktrace CEO Poppy Gustafsson on her AI Safety Summit goals

As the AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park takes place, Computer Weekly caught up with Darktrace CEO Poppy Gustafsson to find out what one of the UK’s most prominent AI advocates wants from proceedings Continue Reading
Feature 31 Oct 2023

The world's most advanced Arabic LLM is now available on open source

On 30 August 2023, Abu Dhabi-based Inception, a subsidiary of G42, announced the release of an Arabic large language model to open source Continue Reading
News 27 Oct 2023

Domestic abuse charities surface fresh worries over NHS data sharing

With new NHS data access options coming into effect at the end of October, a group of campaigners including womens' charities and the BMA have warned that the revived GP-patient data sharing scheme risks putting vulnerable people at risk Continue Reading
Feature 25 Oct 2023

Finland shows off its new 20-qubit quantum computer

Anybody who scoffs at Finland’s lofty ambitions in the field of quantum computing should remember that not only is the country home to one of Europe's most successful companies (Nokia), but it also houses Europe’s most powerful supercomputer (LUMI). Continue Reading
News 24 Oct 2023

Government puts £75m into innovation hubs

Eight innovation ‘launchpads’ will each get a share of the funding for projects covering sectors such as agri-tech, digital healthcare, renewable energy and technologies for the creative industry Continue Reading
News 19 Oct 2023

Government concedes it will miss 2024 e-prescribing target

The government won’t meet its target to get rid of paper prescribing in hospitals by 2024, and has pushed the goal post back two years to 2026 Continue Reading
News 17 Oct 2023

Government to pump £30m into NHS medtech

The government hopes the funding, which is available to integrated care systems across the country, will ease winter pressures through the help of technology Continue Reading
News 11 Oct 2023

North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Trust uses RealWear headsets for training

NHS trauma and orthopaedic department deploys head-mounted cameras to livestream surgeon’s view footage of operations to classroom Continue Reading
News 05 Oct 2023

Government launches £60m Regional Innovation Fund

The £60m fund aims to support universities in areas with lower R&D investment, while the government is also pumping £8m towards AI scholarships Continue Reading
Opinion 04 Oct 2023

AI vs software outsourcing: An opportunity or a threat?

While artificial intelligence offers unprecedented opportunities for growth, efficiency and automation, it also raises pertinent questions about the future of software outsourcing Continue Reading
News 03 Oct 2023

Top science journal faced secret attacks from Covid conspiracy theory group

A conspiratorial group of extreme Brexit lobbyists mounted an extraordinary campaign against one of the world’s most prestigious science journals – part of a series of joint investigations between Byline Times and Computer Weekly Continue Reading
Opinion 29 Sep 2023

The trust deficit in CNI: How to address a growing concern

When it comes to addressing the trust deficit in CNI, technological advancements, evolving threats, inadequate regulations, insufficient investment, public awareness, and international cooperation are all critical components that need attention Continue Reading
News 19 Sep 2023

Government pumps £10m into faster patient access to medtech

The funding aims to give developers support to rapidly develop innovative technologies that can address unmet clinical needs Continue Reading
News 18 Sep 2023

Government seeks industry views on cyber threat to UK CNI

The Science, Innovation and Technology Select Committee is seeking evidence from the cyber sector as it launches an inquiry into the resilience of the UK's critical national infrastructure Continue Reading
News 13 Sep 2023

Patch Tuesday: Microsoft fixes zero-days in Word and Streaming Service

September 2023 brings a light Patch Tuesday, with two zero-days and five critical vulnerabilities listed in the latest release Continue Reading
News 12 Sep 2023

European enterprises to spend more on generative IT to close gap on US

European organisations are upping their spending on generative AI innovation, but face challenges recruiting the right people to support this Continue Reading
News 11 Sep 2023

University of Glasgow launches Centre for data science and AI

Scottish university will apply artificial intelligence and data science to help solve some of the world's biggest challenges Continue Reading
News 11 Sep 2023

IR35: HMRC reportedly working to April 2024 start date for settlement offsets fix

HMRC is reportedly planning to roll out its fix for the double-taxation issue affecting IR35 compliance cases by April 2024 Continue Reading
Podcast 08 Sep 2023

Transforming healthcare with artificial intelligence

Discover how applying AI to healthcare can optimize the patient experience, drive efficiencies and reduce the burden of cardiovascular diseases on the global healthcare system. Continue Reading
News 07 Sep 2023

GPs in Slough help control patients’ blood pressure through tech

The GP practices use digital technology to identify, diagnose and manage patients with hypertension Continue Reading
Feature 07 Sep 2023

Interview: Ashish Gupta, head of EMEA, HCLTech

It’s not just enterprises that changed their operating models during and after Covid, but also the suppliers that took them on the journey, HCLTech Europe’s head explains Continue Reading
News 04 Sep 2023

TUC launches AI taskforce for workers’ rights and societal benefit

The Trades Union Congress has launched what it calls an AI ‘taskforce’ to draft an AI and Employment Bill, aimed at safeguarding workers’ rights, early in 2024 Continue Reading
News 29 Aug 2023

Top-performing CISOs reserve time for professional development

Survey of chief information security officers conducted by Gartner sheds light on habits shared by the top-performing members of the profession Continue Reading
Blog Post 29 Aug 2023

Is the data guardian hinting that Palantir should be ousted from NHS IT?

Nicola Byrne, the National Data Guardian, published a blogpost on the Gov.uk site on 24 August that seems to suggest Palantir should be excluded from the technology involved in the NHS Federated ... Continue Reading
News 24 Aug 2023

NHS SBS to launch £1.5bn digital workplace solutions framework

NHS Shared Business Services is planning on a second iteration of its digital workplace solutions framework before the current one expires in August 2024 Continue Reading
News 24 Aug 2023

NHS England calls on NHS organisations to take part in wireless trials

NHS organisations are encouraged to apply for funding for the wireless trials programme, which aims to explore how cutting-edge tech can improve patient care Continue Reading
News 23 Aug 2023

Cyber attacks in 2023 develop quicker as average dwell times plummet

The median attacker dwell time shrunk from 10 to eight days in the first seven months of 2023, and in the case of ransomware attacks it is down to just five days Continue Reading
News 17 Aug 2023

NUHS taps LLM to boost productivity, patient care

Healthcare professionals at Singapore’s National University Health System can now summarise patient case notes and predict patient healthcare journeys using a large language model trained by a supercomputer Continue Reading
News 16 Aug 2023

Accenture’s Brussels AI lab to focus on European public sector and health

Accenture will use its Brussels AI lab to test AI and generative AI's application in the European public sector Continue Reading
News 14 Aug 2023

CMA provisionally clears US healthcare giant’s purchase of GP IT supplier EMIS

US company UnitedHealth is looking to buy UK healthcare technology firm EMIS in a £1.2bn deal Continue Reading
News 10 Aug 2023

DWP accounts highlight decline in outside IR35 workers in wake of department’s £87.9m tax bill

The Department for Work and Pensions has seen a marked decline in the number of outside IR35 contractors it engages since the department was hit with a £87.9m tax bill several years ago, its accounts show Continue Reading
News 10 Aug 2023

Babylon Health faces downfall

GP at Hand provider once hailed by Matt Hancock looking to sell UK business after merger plans collapse Continue Reading
News 10 Aug 2023

Sutton Council steps up tech-enabled care for residents

Council partners with technology-enabled care provider to support vulnerable residents living independently in their own homes Continue Reading
News 07 Aug 2023

NHS trust suspends two governors as whistleblower email dispute continues

Governors at an NHS trust have been suspended after asking questions about emails used to bring a General Medical Council investigation against a whistleblower Continue Reading
News 03 Aug 2023

Scottish NHS trust ducks fine after staff shared patient data via WhatsApp

NHS Lanarkshire has been issued a formal reprimand by the ICO after staff members used WhatsApp to share patients’ personal data with one another Continue Reading
News 31 Jul 2023

G-Cloud 13 suppliers claim framework extension is making it ‘commercially unviable’ to sell through

Government procurement chiefs at the Crown Commercial Service are under fire for extending the life of the G-Cloud 13 framework and preventing suppliers from upping their prices as inflation bites Continue Reading
News 26 Jul 2023

Cyber attack on IT supplier hits two major ambulance trusts

Ambulance trusts serving millions across southern England have been hamstrung for the past week after a cyber attack took down their hosted patient records system Continue Reading
Opinion 24 Jul 2023

Privacy and participation – technologies to open data for innovation

The Open Data Institute has launched Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PETs) and participatory data programmes. The ODI’s Calum Inverarity explains why they matter Continue Reading
News 14 Jul 2023

UCLH uses machine learning to cope with emergency beds demand

University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has deployed a machine learning tool which uses real-time data to predict how many emergency beds will be needed Continue Reading
News 10 Jul 2023

Met Office bids to make climate data more accessible with Esri

The Met Office is offering a new data portal, built on Esri’s geographic information systems technology, to enable users to understand local and national impacts of climate change Continue Reading
News 05 Jul 2023

UK public increasingly concerned over NHS data sovereignty

Amid security concerns and AI advances, a majority of the British public still trusts the NHS to store and analyse their health data, but would prefer it remains domiciled in the UK Continue Reading
News 04 Jul 2023

Scotland’s Techscaler programme joins forces with CivTech

The partnership between the scaler programme and the innovation accelerator means CivTech alumni companies will be offered Techscaler membership and gain access to its technology hubs, education initiatives and support Continue Reading
E-Zine 04 Jul 2023

How data is beating heart disease

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we find out how a new data strategy is helping the British Heart Foundation to raise money and support medical research. We examine the benefits of using AI in advanced malware detection. And we reveal why the Information Commissioner is under fire for weak responses to serious data breaches. Read the issue now. Continue Reading
News 03 Jul 2023

BlackCat gang claims cyber attack on Barts NHS Trust

Investigations continue into a claim by the ALPHV/BlackCat ransomware gang that it has stolen 7TB of data from Barts NHS Trust in London Continue Reading
News 03 Jul 2023

Driving synergies in digital healthcare

As group CIO of API Holdings, Chandresh Dedhia has been driving synergies across a spectrum of digital healthcare businesses to create operational efficiency and other business outcomes Continue Reading
News 30 Jun 2023

NHS data stolen in Manchester Uni ransomware attack

The ransomware gang behind the cyber attack on the University of Manchester appears to have got its hands on an NHS dataset being used by the university for research purposes Continue Reading
News 29 Jun 2023

NHS has potential to get digital transformation right

NHS must address digital skills gap in its workforce, demonstrate the value of the NHS App and address the digital maturity gap in organisations if it wants to succeed, MPs say Continue Reading
News 29 Jun 2023

NHS England signs five-year Microsoft 365 contract

Hot on the heels of its earlier deployment of Microsoft Teams, NHS England is now going all-in on the rest of the software giant’s online productivity tools Continue Reading
News 29 Jun 2023

Brits are using healthcare apps without proper checks

As mobile health app acceptance increases, people are taking risks by using them without any advice from their medical professionals, finds survey Continue Reading
News 29 Jun 2023

NHS to launch Digital Health Check

The NHS Digital Health Check will be rolled out from spring 2024, and allow patients to do certain tests and get advice from their homes Continue Reading
News 29 Jun 2023

The Finnish Food Authority uses AI to accelerate research

Researchers have reduced the time taken to get critical insights into potential public health crises and address issues in real-time, through artificial intelligence Continue Reading
News 28 Jun 2023

GDPR tax reclaim scheme preys on fears of SMEs

IT suppliers are a target of companies offering a tax reclaim scheme that preys on small businesses’ fears around General Data Protection Regulation compliance Continue Reading
News 22 Jun 2023

Health and care staff have three months to move to latest NHS patient record service

NHS England has told health and care workers they have until the end of September to switch to the latest patient record system Continue Reading
News 22 Jun 2023

NHS England hires internally to fill CIO role

The merger of NHS England and NHS Digital resulted in job losses, which meant the new organisation needed to fill the role of IT chief Continue Reading