Over the last decade, the NHS has made remarkable progress in digitising core services. Electronic patient records are now deployed across the vast majority of NHS trusts. Shared care records have been established across integrated care systems. The NHS App has become one of the most widely used health applications in the world.

These achievements should not be underestimated. For many years, the conversation in healthcare technology was about implementation. How do we get systems deployed? How do we replace paper? How do we build the foundations for a digital NHS?

Today, I believe the conversation has changed.

Having spent much of my career leading national and local NHS transformation programmes, and now working with healthcare organisations, technology companies and life sciences partners at IQVIA, I increasingly see a different challenge emerging. The question is no longer whether the NHS can digitise. The question is whether we can fully realise the benefits of digitisation for patients, staff and taxpayers.

In other words, we are moving from implementation to optimisation.

Technology was never the end goal

One of the strongest themes I heard recently at HETT 2026, the UK's leading event for the healthcare technology ecosystem, was that the biggest barriers to transformation are no longer technical.

The NHS faces financial pressures, rising demand and workforce shortages. Political attention remains focused on reducing waiting lists and improving urgent and emergency care performance. Against that backdrop, technology programmes must demonstrate tangible operational value.

That means moving beyond counting deployments and focusing on outcomes.

The evidence from digitally mature healthcare organisations is clear. Technology can improve productivity, patient safety and experience. But those benefits are not delivered by software alone. They are delivered when technology is embedded within redesigned services, supported by strong leadership, effective change management and sustained adoption.

Too often, organisations still treat technology implementation as the finish line. In reality, it is the starting point. For digital transformation to succeed, systems need to be useful, usable and used.

The next frontier: Productivity and workforce transformation

The growing focus on NHS productivity reflects this shift in thinking.

Technologies such as ambient voice technology, clinical AI and intelligent automation are generating understandable excitement. The opportunity to reduce administrative burden, improve clinical productivity and free up time for patient care is significant.

However, what struck me from discussions at HETT was how consistently leaders emphasised the importance of change management alongside technology. Successful organisations are investing not only in digital tools, but in adoption, training, clinical engagement and new operating models. Centres of excellence, evidence-led deployment approaches and workforce development are becoming just as important as the technology itself.

This is a lesson the NHS has learned repeatedly over the years. Sustainable transformation happens when people, process and technology move forward together.

Data must become a strategic asset

Another recurring theme was the role of data in creating a more connected health and care system.

For years, healthcare organisations have invested heavily in collecting data. The challenge now is using it more effectively. The vision increasingly being discussed across the NHS is simple: collect data once and use it many times.

Whether through shared care records, the Federated Data Platform, the emerging Single Patient Record or research initiatives, the objective is to reduce duplication, improve interoperability and enable information to flow more easily across organisational boundaries.

This matters because patients experience one health and care system, even if services are delivered by many different organisations. When information does not move effectively between services, patients are often left navigating fragmented pathways, repeating their story multiple times and facing delays in care. Technology has the potential to change this, but only if organisations work together around shared standards, shared objectives and, critically, public trust.

Trust remains fundamental. Patients must have confidence that their information is being used securely, transparently and for the benefit of care and research. Without that confidence, even the most ambitious data strategy will struggle to succeed.

From digital front door to digital companion

Perhaps the most ambitious transformation underway is the evolution of the NHS App. The NHS App began life as a digital front door, enabling patients to access services more conveniently. Increasingly, however, it is being positioned as something much more significant: a personalised digital companion.

The ambition is compelling.

Rather than simply directing people to services, future digital capabilities could help people understand symptoms, navigate care pathways, access self-help resources, manage long-term conditions and take a more active role in maintaining their health.

This shift reflects a broader change in healthcare delivery.

If we are serious about moving care closer to home and shifting from treatment to prevention, then patients must be empowered with better information, better tools and easier access to services. Importantly, this should not be viewed purely as a digital agenda.

At HETT, one of the most interesting discussions focused on equity. Some worry that expanding digital services may exclude certain groups. However, there is a compelling argument that well-designed digital services can actually improve equity by providing more personalised support while freeing capacity for those who continue to need face-to-face or telephone-based access.

Universal care does not require everyone to use the same channel. It requires everyone to receive the support that best meets their needs.

Partnership will determine success

If there is one lesson I have taken from working across the NHS, government and industry, it is that no single organisation can transform healthcare on its own. The scale of the challenges facing health and care is simply too great.

Technology suppliers, NHS organisations, life sciences companies, policymakers and patients all have important roles to play. Real progress comes when these different perspectives come together around a shared purpose and a relentless focus on outcomes.

The NHS has made enormous progress in building the digital foundations of modern healthcare. That achievement deserves recognition. The next challenge is more difficult. It is about turning technology into better experiences for patients, better tools for staff, greater productivity for organisations and a more sustainable health and care system.

The future of digital health will not be defined by the systems we deploy. It will be defined by the outcomes we deliver.