Meet Healthcode’s Director of Strategic Partnerships and External Affairs

Tell us about your new role?

I’ll be working hard to forge close relationships between Healthcode and our customers, partners and industry bodies. We want to fully understand their strategic goals and challenges so we can develop tech solutions that really add value. A big part of my role is to report these insights back to our executive team so we can turn them into action.

Although Healthcode have been around for more than 25 years, we must continue to earn our place at the centre of the UK’s healthcare ecosystem so we’ll never stop listening to our stakeholders. I’ll certainly be out and about at industry events to meet as many of you as possible but do come and say hello if you see me.

What are your priorities?

My immediate priority is increasing the depth and breadth of our strategic partnerships. That includes existing collaborators like Pharmacy2U who dispense and deliver medication for our Prescribing customers, as well as developing new alliances where there are clear benefits for all involved.

Alongside that, I want to identify where Healthcode can play a bigger role in emerging and adjacent markets. That includes exploring the opportunities for digital innovation created by the changing relationship between private healthcare and the NHS. We want our solutions to help generate long-term commercial growth for healthcare businesses and help them deliver great outcomes for patients.

How do you hope to build relationships with Healthcode’s stakeholders?

Strong connections are founded on trust, consistency and a genuine understanding of what matters to people so it’s important to listen and see things first hand before proposing solutions. It also means being accessible and taking opportunities to engage with our stakeholders, so Healthcode is seen not just as a tech provider, but as a partner that really understands the sector’s priorities and concerns.

My previous role as Head of Business Development gave me the opportunity to work directly with insurers, providers and partners. Now I’m delighted to have the chance to build on that foundation with a longer term, more strategic approach.

What do you see as the big challenges facing private healthcare in the coming years?

Private healthcare is operating in an increasingly complex environment caused by rising demand and the need to integrate more effectively with other systems, rather than work in silos. There’s also intense pressure on providers to demonstrate value, improve efficiency and use data more intelligently. Meanwhile, the serious and growing cybersecurity threat means that everyone in the healthcare sector must protect their systems and sensitive data from attack.

Rather than let these challenges hold the sector back, we want to work collaboratively with customers and partners on tech that helps them stay ahead of the curve. That means an interoperable IT ecosystem and robust, scalable and sustainable solutions.

How is Healthcode helping the sector navigate those challenges?

We provide trusted, secure platform and interoperable products and services so organisations can thrive in a more complex healthcare environment, including smoother interactions with other systems, smart tools to speed up processes and better data insights.

ePractice is a great example. It’s the next generation of our practice management software that brings together clinical and admin workflows in one solution. We’re also working towards integration with NHS digital services (the Personal Demographic Services and Electronic Prescription Service) so it’s possible to access this in NHS settings.

The PPR was ground-breaking when we launched it ten years ago and remains one of our most important and well-used products with 55,000 practitioners registered. It’s a platform for them to manage their information but it also gives hospitals accurate view of their practitioner population. Now the IHPN is revising its framework for medical governance (MPAF), we’ll be liaising with them to ensure that the PPR is aligned with the new version and can be used as a clinical governance tool.

When it comes to access to healthcare, ICE opens up opportunities to make every booking digital from end-to-end to improve the experience for patients and our new market intelligence tool – Sentinus – will provide the data to support effective decision-making. There’ll be exciting news on both products soon.

What do you enjoy most about working at Healthcode?

I find it inspiring to be part of a team that combines a deep understanding of our market and a genuine desire to deliver real, practical value to the organisations we serve.

Our long history of innovation within the healthcare sector means we’re uniquely positioned to support organisations through a period of rapid change. What motivates me most is realising the potential of our smart tech to streamline workflow, improve connectivity and deliver rapid data insights and seeing the impact that has for customers and partners.

And finally, how do you switch off in your free time?

Outside work, I have fun playing sport and staying active. I’m a keen rugby fan and spend time in the gym, as well as enjoying badminton and tennis. My wife is an extremely competitive player in both these sports, usually more so than me, which keeps things interesting and pushes me to raise my game.

To discuss strategic partnerships or external collaboration opportunities with Healthcode, please contact Richard at arisr@healthcode.co.uk