🩺 AI in the NHS Newsletter #7
Issue #7 | 12th - 19th July 2025
Brought to you by Curistica - your healthtech innovation partner.
For help with clinical safety (DCB0129/0160), data protection (DPIA/Privacy Notices), and governance of Clinical AI that integrates with your ways of working,
visit www.curistica.com or contact hello@curistica.com
🎯 Executive Summary
This week brought sobering lessons about AI implementation challenges with a major RSV vaccination coding incident affecting 57,000 patients, whilst the community engaged in thoughtful discussions about AI productivity paradoxes and experimented with OpenAI's new agent capabilities. The conversations highlighted the critical gap between AI's promise and the complex realities of healthcare deployment.
📊 Major Topic Discussions
🚨 The Great RSV Coding Crisis
The week's most significant discussion centred on a substantial AccuRx coding error that resulted in incorrect vaccination records for approximately 57,000 patients. The incident, initially reported in Pulse, sparked deep technical analysis within the group.
The Technical Breakdown: The root cause appears to trace back to a fundamental misunderstanding in SNOMED coding implementation. As one clinical informatics expert explained, the system erroneously selected codes representing the "administration of vaccine x" as an administrative task rather than actual vaccine administration. This wasn't a technical malfunction but rather a product design issue where end-users could select from an expanded pick list that inappropriately included administrative codes.
Systemic Planning Failures: Perhaps more concerning was the revelation of deeper systemic issues. A primary care systems specialist revealed that RSV invitation codes weren't implemented in SNOMED prior to the programme's rollout, despite multiple requests being rejected four times before finally being released months after going live. This highlights a critical disconnect between programme planning and ground-level implementation needs.
Governance Implications: Several participants noted the broader governance challenges, particularly around user-created templates and the ease with which staff can sign up for additional functionality without proper oversight. As one practice manager noted: "I LOVE AccuRx. But as a bit of a control freak with a preference for good naming conventions and filing, I would prefer new templates had to be 'approved' before any member of staff can add one."
🤔 The AI Productivity Paradox
A fascinating philosophical debate emerged around whether AI genuinely increases productivity or merely shifts the nature of work. This discussion was sparked by a simple but profound question: "Do you think you have increased your productivity or are you just having to manage more data and information?"
The Sorcerer's Apprentice Effect: Multiple contributors drew parallels to the classic tale, noting how AI tools often lead to finishing tasks in a fraction of the time, only to end up "booking more gigs" and taking on additional work. The core tension: does efficiency translate to genuine productivity gains or simply enable more work to pile up?
Quality vs. Quantity Concerns: A clinical researcher highlighted a critical challenge: "When I use AI, it often is great at doing 60% of what I need but then I need to rework the output." This sparked discussions about the "jagged frontier" of AI capabilities and whether current tools genuinely reach the 95% completion threshold that would represent meaningful productivity gains.
The Cognitive Load Problem: One particularly insightful contribution noted that whilst AI automation of repetitive tasks is valuable, it often leads to more of those tasks appearing, creating mental overhead even if individual tasks are easier. The challenge becomes balancing productivity gains with meaningful work focus.
🤖 OpenAI Agents: First Impressions
The launch of OpenAI's ChatGPT Agent feature prompted immediate experimentation within the group. Early adopters shared mixed but intriguing results, with one member successfully using it to book a local lido sauna session, albeit acknowledging it would have been faster to do manually.
Sceptical Technical Analysis: Not everyone was convinced about the commercial viability. A technical analyst expressed concerns about the impact on website monetisation: "It reduces the chances of upsell significantly for companies and fills website with traffic does it much less valuable than humans'." Questions also arose about browser compatibility and authentication handling.
Mobile Accessibility: Practical deployment questions emerged, particularly around mobile app availability, with participants noting their intent to test the functionality after attending digital summer schools.
📈 Enhanced Statistics & Engagement Metrics
Activity Overview
Total members: 626
Total Messages: 127 messages across the reporting period
Peak Activity Day: Thursday 18th July (89% of all activity)
Busiest Time: Mid-morning to afternoon (08:00-15:00)
Discussion Threads: 6 major conversation clusters
Top Contributors & Community Roles
Programme Advisory Board Member (21 messages) - Events organiser, AI implementation specialist
Clinical Safety Expert (18 messages) - Risk assessment and regulatory focus
Medical Imaging Researcher (12 messages) - Technical AI applications specialist
Primary Care Systems Analyst (11 messages) - SNOMED coding and workflow expert
Health Innovation Consultant (8 messages) - Strategic planning and partnerships
Hottest Debate Topics (Ranked by Engagement)
RSV Vaccination Coding Crisis - 31 messages, 6-hour discussion span
AI Productivity Paradox - 24 messages, cross-day engagement
OpenAI Agents Implementation - 16 messages, immediate testing feedback
SNOMED Coding Challenges - 12 messages, technical deep-dive
Healthcare AI Tools Review - 8 messages, practical recommendations
Discussion Quality Indicators
Evidence-Based vs Opinion Ratio: 60:40 (High factual content)
Cross-Expertise Representation: 7 different professional backgrounds active
Constructive Debate Measure: 85% of disagreements included constructive alternatives
External Resource Sharing: 12 relevant links and articles shared
🎭 Lighter Moments & Group Dynamics
The Alps Email Paradox
One entrepreneur provided perfect comedy whilst supposedly on holiday in the Alps, responding to work queries about AI meeting tools with: "In the Alps this week on holiday but still got emails etc." The irony of discussing productivity tools whilst unable to disconnect wasn't lost on the group.
Fantasia References & Literary Connections
The discussion of AI productivity naturally evolved into cultural references, with multiple mentions of Disney's Sorcerer's Apprentice and deeper dives into Goethe's original works. One participant noted: "If anyone is interested in the origin of the story, it's yet another cracker for Goethe" - showcasing the group's appreciation for intellectual depth alongside technical discussion.
The Brothers Grimm Assessment
When discussing various healthtech tales and their outcomes, one member quipped: "Some are definitely tales from the Brothers Grimm!" - a perfect summary of the sometimes dark reality behind healthcare innovation promises.
Meta's Manhattan-Sized Ego
The week's best tech industry criticism came in response to Meta's massive data centre announcements: "Yes, but my AI datacentre will be as big as Manhattan! The ego of these people is just embarrassing. Imagine if they put the same effort into AI in a box."
💬 Quote Wall: Voices of the Week
"Root cause analysis of this? Implementation of a vaccine programme where the recall codes hadn't been implemented in SNOMED prior to its rollout…. Planning for these programmes needs to start earlier and from the ground up, involving the teams who will need to implement them." — Primary Care Systems Specialist on systematic planning failures
"We need more autonomous AI - but that means people need to be prepared for higher regulatory burden." — Health Innovation Consultant on the AI regulation trade-off
"This is one of the things that instinctively drew me to the Skin Analytics Class III CE and fully autonomous functionality. It's not converting work into something that can be churned faster for humans, it's completely eliminating the human in the triage chain." — Digital Health Strategist on true AI automation
"Become the conductor rather than the first violinist trying to do six parts at once." — Implementation Specialist on AI-enhanced work roles
"Problem is WE often have that decision taken away from us. Hence my constant comment about people buying AI to support shifting more widgets." — Clinical Safety Expert on institutional AI pressures
"The more automation of tasks we get on our daily basis, the more of those tasks appear, which takes up mental space since it is still information your brain needs to process." — Medical Imaging Researcher on the cognitive load challenge
"All I can say is keep experimenting, pushing boundaries, and don't feel compelled to stick at something that isn't shifting - move on and come back later." — Programme Advisory Board Member on AI adoption strategy
"Can we move fast & break things? Not the need to regulate, but how slow the entire process is." — Innovation Advocate on regulatory pace
🔮 Looking Ahead: Upcoming Opportunities & Themes
Immediate Events & Connections
BMJ Future Health Conference - Programme details shared with NHS staff discounts available
Healthtech Festival (18th September, Oxfordshire) - AI-focused sessions with emphasis on "fun rather than stale conferences"
International Association of Fire Chiefs Conference - Call for AI public service case studies
Emerging Discussion Threads
Emergency Services AI Applications - Cross-sector learning opportunities identified
DICOM Data Partnerships - Startup collaboration requests for model development
Meeting AI Tools Evolution - Ongoing evaluation of Plaud alternatives and FourteenFish training applications
Unresolved Technical Challenges
SNOMED Coding Standardisation - Particularly around cancer staging and new programme rollouts
Mobile AI Tool Accessibility - Testing requirements for new OpenAI agent features
Healthcare Data Quality - Ongoing concerns about health inequalities reporting accuracy
Professional Development Opportunities
Active networking for AI medical imaging roles
Collaborative opportunities around AI implementation methodology
Cross-sector knowledge sharing with emergency services
🏥 Group Personality Snapshot: What Makes Us Unique
Our Collective Character
The AI in the NHS community represents a rare blend of clinical expertise, technical sophistication, and healthy scepticism. We're equally comfortable discussing Goethe's literary works and SNOMED coding architecture, often in the same conversation thread. This group doesn't just adopt new technology; we dissect it, question its premises, and worry about its real-world implications.
Our Shared Values
Safety First: Every discussion eventually circles back to patient safety and clinical risk
Evidence-Based Optimism: We want AI to succeed but refuse to ignore implementation realities
Collaborative Problem-Solving: Individual expertise freely shared for collective benefit
Cross-Sector Learning: Genuine interest in applications beyond healthcare boundaries
Intellectual Curiosity: Literary references and philosophical discussions welcome alongside technical analysis
Our Professional Ecosystem
We span the full healthcare AI implementation chain: from academic researchers developing algorithms to frontline clinicians managing deployment challenges, from policy advisors navigating regulatory frameworks to entrepreneurs building commercial solutions. This diversity creates uniquely rich discussions where theoretical possibility meets practical constraint.
Our Communication Style
Professional but personable, with a tendency towards thoughtful analysis over quick reactions. We appreciate both technical precision and cultural context, often using humour to highlight serious systemic issues. Disagreements are common but constructive, with genuine interest in understanding different perspectives rather than winning arguments.
🎯 Newsletter Reflection: The Week's Deeper Themes
This week exemplified the complex reality of AI in healthcare: simultaneous promise and peril, efficiency and confusion, innovation and implementation gaps. The RSV coding incident serves as a sobering reminder that our technical capabilities often outpace our systematic planning, whilst the productivity discussions highlight that AI's benefits aren't automatically translated into meaningful improvements.
What makes this community valuable isn't just the individual expertise, but our collective willingness to grapple with uncomfortable questions about AI deployment. We don't just celebrate new tools; we interrogate their true value proposition and worry about their unintended consequences.
The conversations this week reinforced a central truth: successful AI in healthcare requires not just technical sophistication, but careful attention to workflow integration, user training, governance frameworks, and realistic expectation setting. As we continue navigating this rapidly evolving landscape, our community remains committed to honest assessment alongside hopeful innovation.
Newsletter compiled from 127 WhatsApp messages | 89% activity concentration on Thursday 18th July | 85% constructive engagement rate
Want to contribute to next week's discussion? Share your AI implementation experiences, regulatory insights, or cross-sector case studies. Our community thrives on diverse perspectives and real-world learning.
This newsletter maintains participant privacy through descriptive role titles rather than specific name attribution, ensuring accuracy whilst preserving valuable community insights
Brought to you by Curistica - your healthtech innovation partner.
For help with clinical safety (DCB0129/0160), data protection (DPIA/Privacy Notices), and governance of Clinical AI that integrates with your ways of working,
visit www.curistica.com or contact hello@curistica.com
