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Last month, our Head of Mental Health, Aileen Jackson, attended the BMJ Digital Health and Innovation Community Conference, a gathering of leading voices shaping the future of healthcare through technology.

In this blog, Aileen reflects on the challenges and opportunities for clinicians, researchers, innovators and digital health experts as they explore how data, design and human insight can transform the way we deliver care.

Attending the BMJ Future Health conference in November was a powerful reminder of the energy, ambition, and complexity driving digital transformation in health and care.

With many of our partners, the Health Innovation Network South London and Innovate UK were proud to join the conversation and showcase Mindset-XR innovations in mental health.

The day was rich with ideas, challenges, and opportunities, and the excitement around XR solutions was clear, with delegates queuing to experience them firsthand.

Here are the key themes I took away, along with insights from our Mindset innovators after sharing their solutions.

At the event, one thing was clear: there’s a real impatience to bring about change. The energy in the room was palpable — an eagerness to move quickly, implement digital solutions, and transform services.

That momentum is exciting, but it can also be a double-edged sword.

When we rush, we risk introducing technology that doesn’t work as intended, doesn’t scale, or fails to integrate with existing systems. Innovation is essential, but it needs to be paired with a commitment to doing it thoughtfully and well.

Moving fast is good — but moving wisely is better.

Another strong theme was empowerment. And it wasn’t just about giving people tools — it was about involving them in creating those tools.

Co-designing with clinicians and people with lived experience, building digital confidence, and ensuring technology is evidence-based are the foundations of meaningful transformation. Digital change isn’t something that can be imposed; it has to be built collaboratively.

The conference also highlighted an important reality: healthcare isn’t solely clinical. In fact, only 52% of the NHS workforce is made up of clinicians. The rest includes professionals in management, HR, training, IT, administration, and more.

For digital interventions to succeed and remain sustainable, every one of these roles must be part of the co-design process.

There was also a clear call for Royal Colleges and training institutions to embed digital skills into medical, nursing, and allied health education. Encouragingly, younger staff — often digital natives — tend to adapt quickly to new technologies. But that doesn’t mean training can be skipped. Upskilling needs to be intentional, inclusive, and continuous.

Ambient voice technology was a big talking point. It has the potential to save time — but what happens with that extra time? Should clinicians use it to see more patients, or spend more time with each one? Is the goal quantity, quality, or a balance of both?

There’s no simple answer, but it’s an important question to ask. Ultimately, technology should help enhance care, not just speed things up.

One clear takeaway for tech providers: stay true to your mission. Keep your focus on solving real challenges and creating meaningful impact for both patients and healthcare professionals. And remember, sustainability matters — financially and operationally — because lasting solutions are what the industry truly needs.

It’s equally important that new technologies integrate smoothly with existing systems. Without interoperability, even the most groundbreaking innovations risk becoming isolated silos.

Health and care systems are naturally risk-averse — and for good reason. But if we want to innovate, we need to get better at taking calculated risks, learning from mistakes, and creating safe spaces to experiment. Innovation without risk is a contradiction.

That said, risk-taking doesn’t mean being reckless. It means being thoughtful about how we frame and implement new ideas.

One of the most resonant themes? The sense that many are waiting for permission to innovate. Real change often comes from the ground up. We need to empower teams to act, not just wait. Bottom-up innovation isn’t just possible — it’s essential.

There’s a cultural shift needed here — from asking “can we?” to saying “how might we?” We need to create environments where people feel confident to try, test, and learn — even if that means getting things wrong sometimes.

There was a strong focus on measuring the impact of digital technology — not just rolling it out. This means looking at real outcomes like better patient care, improved staff satisfaction, and greater system efficiency.

Poor implementation of technologies in the workplace is increasingly linked to staff burnout and even people leaving their jobs.

We also need to manage expectations carefully. Electronic patient records (EPRs) were introduced with the hope of reducing clinical workloads, but the results have been mixed. In some cases, the challenges they were meant to address weren’t clearly defined from the start — and today, many clinicians still feel the administrative burden is heavy.

Digital systems have advanced, however, they must go further to deliver the time efficiencies and cost savings that the health and care sector needs.

The three enablers of successful digital adoption are people, process, and technology. The emphasis must always start with people. Without understanding the human and operational context, even the most advanced tech will fall short.

Process comes next — ensuring that workflows, governance, and culture support the change.

Only then can technology truly enable transformation.

I’ve always known that digital transformation isn’t just about tech — but this event was a powerful reminder of how people, systems, and culture play a part too.

We need to move fast, yes. But we also need to move wisely.

And most importantly, we need to move together.

Mindset innovators in attendance were Cineon, Greener Games,  Intercultural Roots (EcoGPX), and Photography Based Therapeutics, Reinhart and Sona.

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