Health Innovation East has entered a strategic partnership with Cogniss to launch the Health Innovation East Digital Hub.
The innovation arm of the NHS in the East of England and the no-code ecosystem for digital health solutions have produced an online collection of tools, ways of working and learning resources that help people with no technical expertise build apps through point-and-click without the need for coding.
Health Innovation East, part of the Health Innovation Network, said the partnership will help the region’s health and care experts overcome obstacles associated with the cost of developing digital solutions, the demands of regulatory compliance and securing the resources required to bring digital technologies to market.
The central feature of the ecosystem is an innovation sandbox open to all users for the refining of solutions It is accompanied by an innovators’ forum where users can connect with each other and use an e-learning platform for developing no-code skills.
The ecosystem also offers access to a feature that automates many of the requirements of regulatory compliance for frameworks such as DTAC (how the NHS assesses digital technologies).
Cultivating a community
Joanna Dempsey, principal advisor of Health Innovation East, said: “Our aim is to cultivate a community of digital health innovators, whether SMEs or clinical entrepreneurs, and provide them with comprehensive support to tackle the most pressing health challenges and to deliver solutions to the people and places where they are needed most.”
Dr Lloyd Humphreys, managing director of Cogniss, said: “This is a first-of-type partnership to accelerate innovations into and within the NHS, removing the barriers to and supporting health and care innovators to create the next generation of technology at a fraction of the cost and in a matter of weeks rather than years.
“The aim is to create a sustainable and supportive digital health ecosystem the leverages the frontline experience of clinicians and health care entrepreneurs.”
