The Importance of Human Factors

As the NHS accelerates its digital transformation aspirations, the difference between successful and unsuccessful technology implementations often comes down to one critical element -  the human factor. While technical capabilities are essential, even the most sophisticated systems will only work when they're designed and implemented with human factors at their core.

Understanding User Needs

Healthcare professionals work in complex, high-pressure environments, managing patients while coordinating care across multiple teams. For technology to be able to add value, it's essential that the NHS engages with innovative companies, helping them understand what frontline staff need and – crucially - what the challenges are to deployment – funding, internal politics, reorganisations... and how these are playing out locally.

Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) are uniquely positioned to facilitate early collaboration as part of their strategic commissioning function. By bringing together innovators with clinical teams from an ICS patch during the development phase, ICSs can help ensure that new technologies address real healthcare challenges, integrate well into existing workflows and fit with local priorities.

The Trust and Culture Challenge

Healthcare is built on trust and this extends to the technology clinicians use. Building confidence in new systems requires demonstrating reliability, clinical relevance, and alignment with professional values.

Successful deployments work with NHS culture rather than against it. Technologies that strengthen multidisciplinary collaboration, support clinical decision-making, and align with core NHS values will see more adoption. When staff see how new tools help them deliver better patient care, trust builds naturally. Then systems need to support this and ensure a successful deployment becomes business as usual and not just a short experiment.

Real-World Applications - Getting Human Factors Right

Several members of the Digital Healthcare Council have taken thoughtful approaches to human factors both in how their solutions are designed as well as their values.

Holly Health uses encouraging messaging that feels "playful" rather than prescriptive, focusing on small, achievable habit changes. With over 200 NHS partners, their success stems from understanding that sustainable behaviour change requires empathy rather than dramatic overhauls.

TeleTracking UK shows the importance of cultural change management. At Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, implementing their bed management system required significant cultural adaptation over three years. By working closely with clinical teams, TeleTracking achieved remarkable results including eliminating paper-based processes that saved over five hours of administrative work weekly.

HBSUK's Virtual Lucy platform demonstrates user-friendly digital triage, integrating with existing NHS app credentials and familiar patient technology. By removing 50% of waiting lists through appropriate remote consultations, it shows how thoughtful design improves both patient access and system efficiency.

Lilli emphasises that technology isn't about replacing people but providing evidence to support trained decision-makers. Working with councils like Nottingham and Reading, they've demonstrated savings of up to £9 for every £1 spent while accelerating hospital discharge by up to 16 days.

HealthNet Homecare (UK) Ltd focuses on reducing administrative burden through digital tools like AdherePredict, enabling clinicians to maintain therapeutic relationships while supporting patients at home.

Livi UK believes that digital technologies should free up staff to spend more time with those most in need of care. Their platform creates a consistent digital front door to NHS services. By replacing 93% of physical consultations, Livi shows how technology can enhance rather than replace human care.

Preventx's solutions illustrate how digital health services can reduce barriers to healthcare access through thoughtful user experience design. Its approach removes traditional barriers by allowing patients to order test kits online, collect samples at home, and track results online - recognising that convenience and privacy are crucial human factors for sensitive health services like sexual health screening.

The Way Forward

These examples show that innovation in the NHS requires more than advanced technical features - it needs understanding of human workflows, pressures, and cultural values in providers and commissioners. By prioritising human factors healthcare technology can improve both clinician experience, patient care and the NHS itself.