November 14-15, 2019 Paris, France

The World Congress & Expo on Healthcare IT is a conference which focuses on technological innovations that can further develop today's healthcare systems. This year's main theme is how technology and medical science can work hand in hand to improve healthcare. The term Healthcare IT (HIT) is a combination of healthcare, computer science and information science.

This conference shines the light on how healthcare providers can improve the quality of care through IT. It consists of exhibitions, keynote presentations, workshops and discussion panels with industry experts. Moreover, product and service providers are permitted to present their technologies and services in the conference.

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On March 13 of 2019, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Matt Hancock, announced the creation of NHSX, which is a new unit developed to bridge the gap between healthcare and digital technology. It aims to do this by using technology to unite the three current departments; Health and Social Care; NHS England; and NHS Improvement.

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The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) recently published a policy paper which lays out the government's plan and vision for the development of user friendly technology in healthcare. The main purpose behind such development plans is to provide the public with improved healthcare experiences. With this vision in mind, the paper reveals the government's future priorities and areas of focus.

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A recent report by the research think tank, Parliament Street, revealed that 9,132 patient records were missing or stolen from 68 NHS hospital trusts throughout the 2017-2018 financial year.

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As the healthcare industry expands, providers and organisations are leaning on and embracing innovative forms of technology to improve the most important facet of healthcare, that being patient care. Because patient care is a deeply interpersonal element of healthcare, the implementation of technology represents a potential threat to the face-to-face feature of patient care. Although, improvements in predictive healthcare technology could amount to both technological adoption and improved patient care, without the loss of personal interaction.

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According to a 2017 survey by Accenture, one in eight consumers in England has been the victim of medical information hacks. Their private medical information had been stolen from systems that lacked the adequate levels and measures of security. The survey of 1,000 people in England outlined that (78%) think healthcare providers should be responsible for protecting this information, while only 40% believe they themselves have responsibility. The data breaches that effectively jeopardised the medical information and identities of those affected each lost an average of £172 as a result.

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As widely reported, an international ransomware attack has hit computer systems in 150 countries, affecting hundreds of companies, businesses and specifically one of the most important sectors in the UK, healthcare. The malware that was used is called WannaCry, a very fitting name for all the feelings of despair that it undoubtedly evokes in its victims. The hackers demanded payment in Bitcoin money in return for access to patients' medical records and other critical information. It is believed that the attackers have leveraged a stolen NSA malware product that was initially created to be used in surveillance to spy on terrorists.

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A recent global study conducted by Ponemon and funded by IBM Security shows that, of the 383 participating companies, 91 percent of healthcare organisations in 25 countries have been hit by at least one data breach in the past two years. The total cost of these breaches has been 6.2 billion US dollars (4.6 billion pounds), and an average impact of nearly 2.8 million pounds per breach.

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