To create impactful innovation in healthcare, effective collaboration between clinicians, solutions providers and other key stakeholders is essential. Many promising innovations fail to address real clinical needs because they are developed without clinician input or lack co-design from the start. This webinar will explore how clinician-led collaboration can shape better innovation projects, ensuring new solutions align with clinical priorities and are successfully adopted in practice.

Drawing from real-world examples of successful partnerships between NHS organisations, industry and service users, the session will provide attendees with advice on problem identification and leading co-design approaches to ensure effective collaboration and better healthcare outcomes. 

Key themes:

• Involving clinicians early to define priorities and uncover pain points, and align with actual challenges faced in clinical settings.
• Strategies and practical tips for effective collaboration between clinicians, other stakeholders and solution providers.
• How to engage wider clinical teams to champion solutions and drive adoption, and overcoming resistance to change and embedding solutions into everyday workflows.
• How clinicians, service users and solution providers can work together to evaluate and refine solutions over time

Speakers: 

• Pritesh Mistry, Fellow (Digital Technologies), The King's Fund
• Siobhán O'Connor, Senior Lecturer, Digital Health & Applied Tech Assessment, King's College London
• Ayad Marhoon, Simulated Patient and Communication Skills Trainer, University of Leeds

This BMJ Future Health 2025 webinar focused on co-designing digital health solutions, with insights from healthcare professionals, researchers, and a patient advocate. Hosted by Helen Surana, Co-Editor-in-Chief of BMJ Innovations, the session emphasized the importance of inclusive, patient-centred design in digital health services.

Key Themes and Speaker Highlights:

1. The Importance of Digital Inclusion (Pratesh, King's Fund)
   • Pratesh outlined the King’s Fund research on designing inclusive digital health services.
   • Highlighted systemic digital exclusion in the NHS and three major barriers: lack of access to devices, data, and digital skills.
   • Emphasized the need for meaningful patient engagement to prevent poorly designed digital tools.
   • Stressed sustainable co-design through proper staff training, leadership commitment (e.g., protecting 10% of tech budgets), and embedded engagement practices beyond project-based approaches.
2. Mapping the Co-Design Landscape (Dr. Shavonne O’Connor, King’s College London)
   • Presented findings from a major NIHR-funded review synthesizing global evidence on digital health co-design.
   • Identified widespread use of co-design methods across technologies (e.g., apps, wearables) and conditions (e.g., mental health, chronic illness).
   • Introduced a forthcoming online toolkit of co-design methods, tools, and theories to guide researchers and developers.
   • Shared other initiatives like a co-design e-learning course, one-to-one advisory service, and workshops as part of King’s Health Partners Digital Health Hub.
   • Showcased a co-designed VR app for mindfulness in people with type 2 diabetes, integrating generative AI to boost creative participation.
3. Patient Perspective on Co-Design (Ayad Mahu, Patient Partner, University of Leeds)
   • Spoke from lived experience, advocating for deeper, earlier involvement of patients in digital health solution design.
   • Distinguished between true co-design and tokenistic engagement, stressing that patient input should begin at the problem-definition stage—not after a solution is developed.
   • Cited an example from the MS Society where patients helped define the problem (fatigue) and agreed that an app was the right format before design began.
   • Emphasized ongoing communication and shared decision-making throughout projects to avoid power imbalances.

Panel Q&A Takeaways:

• Ethics & Research Governance: Ethical approval isn't needed for PPI (Patient and Public Involvement) alone, but becomes essential when collecting data. PPI contributors should help shape consent and study materials for clarity and inclusivity.
• Digital Adoption Tools: These can help users navigate new technologies but may reflect inadequate co-design if apps require such support. True co-design might prevent this need.
• Low-Resource Settings: Although most research is from high-income countries, many principles (e.g., listening to communities, local partnerships) are transferable globally.
• AI and Ambient Scribes: Concern was raised about new technologies (like AI scribes) that may impact patients without direct interaction. Transparency, data ethics, and patient trust were noted as emerging areas needing more research and co-design.

Final Messages:

• There is growing recognition that patients bring vital expertise by experience and should be treated as equal partners in digital innovation.
• BMJ Future Health encourages submissions to its new journal Digital Health and AI and invites participation in its November 2025 event.

Resources Mentioned:

• King's Fund reports on digital inclusion
• Digital Health Co-Design Toolkit (coming soon)
• BMJ Open for published co-design protocols
• King’s Health Partners Digital Health Hub and training resources
• BMJ Future Health newsletter and YouTube channel for on-demand webinars

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