Latest from the Blog
- Healthcare’s Freeserve MomentThis article was published by HealthTechX360 on 20 August 2025. The launch of Freeserve was a founding moment for Europe in 1998. People queued outside electronics shops to get the free CD that gave them free internet access from home. This followed opening up the nation’s telecoms network to the private sector. The UK’s regulatory
- Growing markets need small paymentsThis article was published in ICT & Health on 18 August 2025. “A crocodile in the Yangtze” was how Alibaba’s founder described its defence against eBay’s entry to China. Alibaba, he explained, knew that China was different to what had powered eBay’s growth, and that eBay would be too confident to adjust. Alibaba did defend
- Citizen ownership is the only path to a single patient recordThis article was published in Digital Health on 4 August 2025. Do not miss the foundational idea in the 10-year plan. Amongst all the details of Wes Streeting’s 10-year plan for the NHS – scale up robotic surgery; shut down Qangos; tie doctors’ pay to patients’ opinions – the Single Patient Record may sound too dull
- If you are lying, I will have all this checked on the computerIf you liked “Mr Bates vs the Post Office”, you must read “Last Among Equals: Power, Cast and Politics in Bihar”. One day Sanjay, an electrician in Delhi, returns home to his village in Bihar to visit his parents. He passes by some Dalit caste women talking about not getting paid for the NAREGA. What
- On direct letters“I am just writing to thank you for the fantastic NHS care I received” was the first letter the Department of Health gave to the Rt Hon Sir Jeremy Hunt, MP. As Secretary of State for Health at the time he asked to read and reply to one letter every day, a habit he continued
- What the first day at work like for Simon Stevens?“I saw Simon Stevens on his first day in the NHS”, he said. One of my joys is visiting customer sites and meeting the people making healthcare work. On this day I was taking photos of the kiosks that allow patients to check into their outpatient appointment, then register for Patients Know Best to see
- Visiting Vitalis conference in SwedenI feel short visiting our Dutch customers, so I spent the whole day looking up at my giant hosts in Sweden’s Vitalis conference . This is the largest Nordic health care IT conference and it’s interesting seeing how they organise their care. Their medical records procurements are regional, not by care setting. The market leader
- Interview with Times Radio‘Early is punctual, on time is late.’ I’ll say that again because it takes a couple of goes: ‘Early is punctual, on time is late.’ He literally redefined the meaning of two words to underpin his own obsession with being on time. That’s Geoff Norcott describing his dad, whose “punctual” pushed Norcott into studying hard
- Attorney of the poor, Dr John Birt Davies“The coroner frequents more public houses than any man alive.” wrote Charles Dickens in Bleakhouse. Apparently, legislation required that inquests should take place as close as possible to the place of death, and it had long been the practice to hold them in pubs. This and many other interesting facts and stories are part of
- “The Patient Perspective” panel at Abu Dhabi Health WeekI’m at Abu Dhabi Global Health Week and will be speaking on Thursday with Healthcare World panel. My focus is how patients – the latest and largest health care providers – can do more, better, with the right data and technology. Like Richard the kidney patient who uses @Patients Know Best.Steve Gardner and I will
- FemTech funding founder story“I don’t do bikini medicine” said the investor. If you think FemTech doesn’t get sufficient investment levels today, spare a thought for Surbhi Sarna raising money in 2012. “Like it took me a second to get it. Oh, anything that a bikini touches, I get it, you know? Okay, so first of all, a lot
- “Citizen participation and community voice to fight digital exclusion” speech at WHOThe WHO’s European Programme of Work invited me to present at their “Health systems of the future: harnessing technology and innovation in health, for everyone” event. My topic was “Citizen participation and community voice to fight digital exclusion”, below are the video and transcript. In the 1960s, home kidney dialysis experiments started in London. In
- Listening to Morris Chang, founder of TSMC“We have to issue corporate bonds” said the founder and CEO of TSMC, explaining to Apple how he is struggling to finance the massive investment in a factory for Apple’s chips. “I think you can eliminate your dividend” was the outrageous advice from Apple! I absolutely loved this interview with Morris Chang, the founder of
- Failed State book and reflections on NHSIt is very interesting to read the book “Failed State”. I like the book because it starts out saying there is a way out. This is not one of those irritatingly lazy posts about the UK being hopeless and doomed – it is neither – nor is it about UK politicians being corrupt and workshy
- Kodak and Fuji: business is hardA reminder that business people are not stupid, business is just really hard: a former employee of Kodak writing about their doomed struggle in the face of digital. For many years, Kodak management was careful not to talk about the problem publicly to prevent it from becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy (something critics misconstrued as management
- Empowering the Future of Wellness: Personalized Health Insights and the Shift to Preventative Care at Arab Health 2025It was great to feature Holly Health and Chiron as part of my talk “Empowering the Future of Wellness: Personalized Health Insights and the Shift to Preventative Care”. These are the kinds of apps pioneering using smartphones to drive positive behaviour change – we all know smartphones have a powerful effect, wouldn’t it be good
- The Front Door to Healthcare: Primary Care Delivery in an Insurance Led System – Panel at Arab HealthAbu Dhabi’s primary care system is different from neighbouring Dubai’s. But it’s also different from last year’s Abu Dhabi primary care system. I learned this and more from fellow panelists and Steve Gardner in yesterday’s Healthcare World panel on primary care. Dr. Ibtesam AlBastaki said Dubai Health Authority uses general practice in a gatekeeper model.
- Data Aggregation for Population Health Insights: lecture at Arab HealthThis morning I will be in Dubai C part of the panel “The Front Door to Healthcare – Primary Care Delivery in an Insurance Led System”. Join me at 9 am, Healthcare World have a great line-up. I loved the Public Health conference at Arab Health Exhibition yesterday. My “Data Aggregation for Population Health Insights”
- A Pan-Arab Personal Health Record: two sessions at ArabHealthWhat would it take for personal health records to work across the Arab world? I really enjoyed discussing this topic with the panelists the ArabHealth team put together. Dr Samah Ismail started a fireside chat in the morning about my paper on a pan-Arab PHR. I’ve watched Samah and her team at Malaffi (Abu Dhabi
- “Public Success, Private Grief” book by Peter CowleyI want to thank Peter Cowley (he/him) for writing his book. He is generous in sharing his experience losing two sons to suicide and all his other trials and tribulations. The book is called “Public success private grief” https://www.ps-pg.com/ because like many others I only knew Peter as the angel investor who received the lifetime
- Saudi’s approach to hospitality and change“Is the juice on the right mine?” I asked. “Everything is yours,” he replied. Instantly. Saudi hospitality is warm to experience. Nobody had to train the employees of Saudi Commission for Health Specialties (SCFHS) to behave this way, it came naturally to them as they hosted us last night. I was thinking yesterday about the
- Why Keir Starmer’s Digital Transformation Matters TodayIn a fascinating exploration of Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s time as head of the Crown Prosecution Service, his biography reveals impressive managerial skills and empathetic decision-making. Below is a LinkedIn post I shared, highlighting some pivotal moments from the book. Sir Keir Starmer said his “transformation from paper to digital is one of the defining
- Why Dr. Susan Hill’s Patient-Centered Approach Should Be Adopted NationwideDr Susan Hill’s dedication to the children under her care at Great Ormond Street Hospital is nothing short of inspiring. Below is a LinkedIn post I shared, detailing her innovative approach to patient care and collaboration with families and medical staff. You can see the actual LinkedIn post here.
CEO blog at Patients know best 