It is startling to learn that by using middleware that can read doctors’ narratives, a single UK NHS Trust claims that it has put together a database of patient records for anti-dementia drugs that is 12 times larger than the entire worldwide Cochrane data. It is also startling to learn that even patients with mental disorders had an 86% adherence to using wearable devices such as Fitbit.

The Maudsley project has been used initially to seek out correlations and drug outcomes.  But similar projects could be used to look at patient outcomes and to measure the quality of care achieved by different clinicians.

There two lessons here. A lot can be achieved using software which sits on top of existing data repositories. You don’t need to redesign everything to get good information. Secondly, adherence to wearable devices improves if you explain stuff well to patients. A final point – we think the way patients of all ages use and think about ehealth is set to change dramatically as user interfaces improve.