What does the eHealth Cluster do?

As health and social care evolves, we need to be able to share resources and technology has a major role to play in that. Yet Liverpool City Region’s eHealth Cluster issues a challenge; how can you share resources if you don’t know what’s there?

At the heart of the cluster is a framework supporting a community of technology companies, health and care organisations along with individuals and communities.

By bringing together the three worlds of technology, health and care, the eHealth Cluster is able to cut across them, illustrating three, often different, ways of working with the Liverpool city region. This, ultimately, helps people to work out the best ways to work together. It makes it easier for commissioners to map and find out what technology and IPs are being developed; It enables technology companies to work more effectively with healthcare professionals, responding to real needs and issues; and it helps communities impart their valuable perspective and experience to help develop the technology and digital health they need.

There are seven categories of membership within the eHealth Cluster, covering people with all types of disciplines. There are creative thinkers working on user experience and design, patent attorneys, those who can advise on standards, technologists who understand platforms and opportunity and healthcare professionals who bring 40 years of experience.

Creating a balanced membership means people can support each other and see the real opportunities for health.

Our key services:

We help:

  • Public bodies engage with the eHealth technology sector and with Health and Social Care providers
  • Technology SMEs engage with the public sector and with Health and Social Care providers
  • Health and Social Care providers engage with technology SMEs and with public sector commissioners
  • Academic and research organisations engage with industry partners and with Health and Social Care providers
  • Support Organisations with wider engagement in their support programmes
  • Academic and research organisations with wider engagement in research programmes, with their engagement events, and guest speakers for courses and events

We help:

  • Technology SMEs gain insight into new product requirements and market needs
  • Technology SMEs understand routes to market in NHS and Social Care
  • Supply chain partners gain insight on trends/emerging technology
  • Health and Social Care providers gain awareness of eHealth products available and emerging
  • Public bodies with an overview of eHealth activities within LCR; a focal point for activity
  • Support organisations to offer a clear path for eHealth SMEs looking for advice, that is less confusing, and with reduced duplication
  • Public Bodies and Professionals with support for programmes & funding bids

We help:

  • Technology SMEs access routes to test concepts/products and co-creation opportunities, and to collaborate with other tech companies
  • Supply chain partners to access to smaller, specialist organisations, and to access innovation via SMEs and academic institutions
  • Health and Social Care providers with forging new collaborations within their own sector and wider
  • Technology SMEs to access to research and development activities taking place
  • Public bodies and professionals with impartial support to collaborations, and with  with market development and soft market testing opportunities
  • Health and Social Care providers with links to commissioners, input to market shaping and soft market testing exercises
  • Health and Social Care providers to incorporate technology into services and support them to develop new ways of working from other sectors
  • Public bodies with coordinated approaches to developing the health ecosystem using existing resources

We help:

  • Technology SMEs and Health and Social Care organisations by promoting their work to wider audiences
  • Health and Social Care providers by promoting willingness to change and opportunities for change
  • Support Organisations with promotion of their opportunities/projects
  • Other/Emerging /Equipment Providers with promotion of their opportunities

Technology isn’t created in isolation. Instead it has to respond to a need. Its development needs a robust mechanism of reflection, insight and expertise from a wide range of voices to ensure it stays on track, delivery what’s both wanted and required. This is a community.

One of the ways Liverpool’s eHealth cluster supports this is through its structure. By bringing together technology, health and social care communities, the cluster enables its members to have access to a cross section of sectors. It generates a balanced membership of people with different ranges of experience and expertise providing advice, support and context. It means the community can create products and platforms that are what the health and social care communities need and want.

If you know what’s happening, you can bring the right people together to deliver it.

Different kinds of producers and different kind of products need varying levels of advice and community feedback. Explore the different projects and communities working as part of the eHealth Cluster below.

Click a link to see examples of organisations we work with

 

Within the eHealth Cluster, we have created an environment where innovative solutions are developed across sectors, bringing together local NHS, local authorities, health and care organisations, and the tech industry.

As an impartial broker, we facilitate collaboration, share information, help our members to engage with different sectors, and promote our members at events and conferences, putting them in front of the people who can make a difference to their business.

Click a link to see examples of the ehealth cluster working with organisations

 

If you have an interest in eHealth and want to contribute to the eHealth Cluster, or if you want help with any of the above, why not talk to us?  – call or email; 07973655043 rosemary@ehealthcluster.co.uk