Informatics experts in Tokyo and Manchester join forces to improve patient care
NHS Greater Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre and North West e-Health sign deal with Hitachi to advance informatics technology
Experts in Tokyo and Manchester have agreed to work together to improve patient care through the use of informatics technology.
The NHS in Greater Manchester; the Manchester Academic Health Science Centre (MAHSC); and North West e-Health, a joint-venture partnership between the University of Manchester, Salford Royal NHS Trust and NHS Salford, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Hitachi, Hitachi Consulting and Eagle Matrix Consulting to work together towards planning and developing informatics technology to manage and improve patient care and population health.
Masaya Watanabe, vice president and executive officer at Hitachi, who is also the chief strategy officer and chief innovation officer of Hitachi’s Information and Telecommunication Systems Company, said: “It is a great honour to be able to combine Hitachi Group’s cutting-edge technologies with the healthcare infrastructure and development-friendly environment offered by the NHS in Greater Manchester.
The NHS, with 60 million patients, has access to unrivalled, clinically coded, granular health data, providing a unique opportunity to test innovative approaches to health informatics in order to meet end patient benefit
“Our ideas on how informatics can transform the delivery, experience and management of healthcare will be a key business driver for us over the next decade. This partnership offers us the opportunity to contribute towards the enhancement of healthcare in the UK and eventually duplicate this model in other regions around the world.”
Hiroshi Ashibe, president of Hitachi Consulting Co, added: “There is a clear advantage in leveraging the synergies both in vision and technology between the Hitachi Group and the NHS in Manchester, where the wider health economy provides the ideal launch pad for innovative health services. We are very excited to be working with the NHS in Manchester in exploring this potential further.”
And Professor Ian Jacobs, MAHSC director and dean of The University of Manchester’s Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences, said: “This initiative affords us a tremendous opportunity to develop new products and services of significant benefit to the NHS and people of Greater Manchester, but it is also our joint intention to ensure scalability for the wider benefit of the rest of the UK.”
The discussions between Hitachi and the NHS in Manchester have been supported by UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) and the Department of Health.
Dr Mark Treherne, chief executive of UKTI’s Life Science Investment Organisation, said: “The UK has a huge amount to offer in health innovation specifically within the health informatics space as demonstrated by this Memorandum of Understanding with Hitachi and Hitachi Consulting Co. The on-going appetite for industry and the NHS to partner up makes the UK an ideal place for a company like the Hitachi Group to develop ideas collaboratively. The NHS, with 60 million patients, has access to unrivalled, clinically coded, granular health data, providing a unique opportunity to test innovative approaches to health informatics in order to meet end patient benefit.”
The six parties will be working over the next year in designing detailed technology and service applications tailored towards the population of Greater Manchester.
- Companies:
- Department for International Trade
- University of Manchester
- Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust
- Hitachi Group
- Manchester Academic Health Science Centre
