Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps (a) her Department and (b) NHS England have taken to incentivise the integration of digital technologies into cardiovascular disease care pathways.
The Government’s commitment to develop a national digital service to support the NHS Health Check was announced in the Health Reform speech on 8 March 2022, and forms a part of the Department’s plan for digital health and social care. The vision is to increase the flexibility and reach of the NHS Health Check through the creation of an innovative, accessible national digital service, delivered alongside local face-to-face offerings, that helps people understand and take action when engaging with their cardiovascular health. Whilst there isn't any specific policy development surrounding integrating digital technologies into care pathways, NHS England has developed an information guide that will help clarify the commissioning pathway. This will encourage the adoption of digital health technologies into the National Health Service, including those in cardiovascular diseases.