A short Christmas break..

...and a look back on a year in healthtech

I started this newsletter about health and technology somewhat hesitantly at the beginning of 2022. I knew quite a bit about technology but when it came to the complex science and politics of healthcare I was a novice. Just getting to grips with all the acronyms was a major challenge. Only yesterday, in a discussion about a fascinating patient data project which I’ll write about in the New Year I found myself frantically googling the term “PPI” - no, not an upgrade to PPE, but Patient and Public Involvement, now rightly an essential part of any clinical trial.

Would I be able to find enough interesting stories to tell or subscribers to read them? I need not have worried on either count. Soon, I realised there was a wealth of material, some derived from my own experiences as a patient with Parkinson’s and an ocular melanoma and my involvement in testing new gadgets, but more about the potential of technology to transform healthcare and the challenges of introducing it to the NHS. My battle against insomnia and search for technology to help has been another subject - as you can see from the data from my Apple Watch, I’ve had some success in getting more than the five hours I averaged over the summer.

One big theme has been my eagerness to see patient data - both mine and that of as many people as possible - shared for research and planning purposes and my frustration at the roadblocks which often prevent that from happening.

I have also found that there is an audience for such stories - just in the last week the subscriber numbers topped 3,500 for the first time and many more see those articles when I share them via my @ruskin147 Twitter account or on other social media platforms.

I am hugely grateful to all of you but especially to my paying subscribers. I am aware that I need to offer you more reasons to upgrade to a paid subscription - perhaps a fortnightly Q&A session over Zoom? Do let me know your thoughts.

I am now going to take a short break for our family Christmas festivities - we have a new and very charming grandson, and an extremely nervous rescue dog, so it’s going to be busy.

Whatever you may be celebrating - Christmas, Hanukkah, or just the end of a stressful year - may I wish you a peaceful and enjoyable holiday. See you soon.