Digital Health and Social Care

Health and social care are being transformed by digital technologies. Yet, for many professionals, the rapid pace of change can feel overwhelming, confusing, or even exclusionary. Digital Health and Social Care: Byte-sized Wisdom provides a clear and engaging guide to help clinicians, leaders, and practitioners answer the key questions: what digital innovations are available today; how should we navigate their introduction into practice; and why do they matter for the future of health and social care? Structured around the everyday realities of care work, this book explores a wide range of topics, from population health management and pathway redesign to medicines management, electronic patient records, and professional decision support. It highlights the blurred boundaries between clinical digital practice and IT expertise, offering frameworks to help professionals recognise where their responsibilities lie and where specialist support is required. As the chapters progress, readers are guided beyond the technologies themselves-towards leadership, governance, and ethical considerations that underpin successful digital transformation. Adopting digital systems is not simply about technical proficiency, but about cultivating new ways of leading change, collaborating across professional boundaries, and safeguarding patient trust in how we use and protect their data. Looking ahead, the book also considers emerging innovations-artificial intelligence, robotics, nanotechnologies, and immersive environments-that are set to redefine care in ways that once belonged to science fiction. By situating these developments in a practical, professional context, Tack offers a balanced view: one that is both aspirational and grounded in the daily work of clinicians and care staff.

Christopher Tack is a digital health consultant with a background in clinical informatics leadership in London, UK. A physiotherapist by background, he has led nationally on digital capability development for Allied Health Professionals and served as an invited contributor to the national review of digital capability for nursing and midwifery. He has published extensively on digital health and technology-enabled care, reflecting a career dedicated to integrating digital innovation into clinical practice. Chris now advises organisations across the health and care sector, helping them to adopt and optimise technology to improve services and patient outcomes.

- Introduction - 1: Do we need to go digital? - 2: What's for me vs what's for IT? - 3: Designing clinical systems - 4: Population healht management - References