UCL and Cerner form digital health research partnership

The UCL Institute of Digital Health, part of University College London, has teamed up with health IT specialist Cerner UK to close the gap between what is learned in digital healthcare research and what is delivered in practice.

This new partnership will focus on advancing research, innovation and training in health informatics, and speeding up the time it takes to get new research and innovations into working practice.

Cerner has worked in partnership with the NHS for more than 25 years.

The Institute of Digital Health is a network of researchers, projects and research centres with a shared interest in the potential of digital technologies to improve health and wellbeing.

Together, UCL and Cerner plan to create new opportunities to conduct research as well as embed research into routine care. The partnership will also leverage Cerner’s experience in bringing innovations to market.

Ann Blandford, director of the UCL Institute of Digital Health, said: “Digital technologies are becoming increasingly important in healthcare and in health research. The Institute of Digital Health represents world-class researchers across UCL who are delivering transformational interdisciplinary research at the intersection of health, human and data sciences. We are keen to further this agenda by partnering with organisations who have expertise that complements our own.

“UCL has a long-standing relationship with Cerner, in both research and teaching, and this is a great opportunity to build on past collaborations and to deliver future research that makes a real difference in practice.”

Geoff Segal, general manager of Cerner UK and Ireland, added: “UCL is one of the world’s leading universities, and partnering with their Institute of Digital Health is a fantastic opportunity to combine efforts to deliver better, safer and more efficient health IT to the market.”

He concluded: “With this partnership, not only will we focus on what health and care of the future should look like, we will also make sure that this future is delivered to care providers as soon as possible and that the workforce is ready for it.”

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