The UK has become a center for innovation in life sciences and health technology. As the second-largest sub-category of the tech sector, health tech is worth £36 billion and employs 132,000 individuals. In addition, health tech investments in the UK have been the highest in Europe. This is attributed to the rise of venture capital in developing innovative digital tools during the pandemic.
In 2021, £2.87 billion was funded into UK tech startups and scale-ups, a ninefold increase on 2016 data.
Now is the time for health startups to scale up and grow, but there are crucial challenges. Even the most innovative companies experience failure in allowing data to flow quickly between devices and external health systems. Startups that fail to launch from more reliable data platforms could fail even when they take off.
Startups offering advances in diagnosis and treatment must integrate their data with the wealth of existing clinical data. And from there, they should learn how to share with other systems and organizations. This is why interoperability must lay the foundation of a solid health care strategy.
Seamless flow of data to support patient outcomes
Interoperability is usually taken for granted when starting a business. But it is the key to driving the future success of health tech startups. They are unlikely to graduate from the pilot stage National Health Service (NHS) without interoperability.
The NHS has effectively promoted the necessary data standards HL7 and FHIR regulating interoperability. Any application must follow these standards. Despite compelling ideas of startup owners, they often fail to consider the challenges of scaling and interoperability within the set standards.
Scaling is easier when a company starts with a well-defined data strategy. They should prepare for the requirement for data to be secure, compliant, and available. When a startup can share data easily between healthcare organizations, harmonized care and improved patient outcomes are achieved.
Health tech startups must understand the complex health data standards.
A company that wants to enter the healthcare domain must know the standards landscape. Health tech startups must understand these requirements and integrate compliance into their solutions.
Single platform strategy
Limitations in time and resources hinder startups from achieving a certain level of interoperability, but there is a solution. The constraints could be addressed by developing applications on a third-party platform that integrates interoperability. Moreover, the ability to create multiple interfaces and high-speed data storage also provide several benefits.
This approach lessens the burden of data scientists on cleaning and preparing data. Likewise, a data strategy built on an established health integration platform enables startups to address more interoperability application cases. These capabilities can be improved further when integrated with the ability to provide real-time analytics.
A standard platform also eliminates the need to integrate multiple technologies. In-house developers are free to focus more on developing their products or services.
Wireless technology, miniaturization, and computing ability are constantly evolving. It results in clinicians’ and patients’ increasing approval of digital health solutions. For ambitious startups, a solid commitment to solving the basics and a fundamental requirement for data interoperability will generate positive long-term results.
As health tech startups develop new applications and thrive in the market, interoperability is sure to be a fundamental ingredient to their success. Companies must ensure that their solutions can efficiently fit within an existing infrastructure from the very beginning. This can be achieved through a single data platform designed to attain interoperability and fully integrate health systems and standards.
