Prof. Sam Shah, Chief Medical Strategy Officer, Numan

No matter where you turn online, Sam Shah’s voice is ever-present in a healthcare setting and his mission is clear. To drive the United Kingdom’s Digital Health and Medical sector to the forefront of a global stage. We look at how this humble, likable and hugely influential voice came to his calling and what drives Sam Shah to empower the English health sector abroad.

Sam currently occupies the role of Chief Medical Strategy Officer at Numan, and is the founder and director of the Faculty of Future Health with Ulster University. Additionally, he holds the following roles,

• Chief Clinical Digital Advisor, ORCHA
• Editorial Board Member, International Journal Of Digital Health
• Advisor, Health Hero
• Advisory Board Member, Sesui Ltd
• Group Clinical Director, East Village Dental
• Clinical Director, The Ivory Clinic
• Chair Steering Committee, The HETT show

His opinions and expertise are sought after and he is frequently featured on webinars, podcasts, and talk shows. What quickly becomes apparent are his cutting insights into issues that surround the deployment of new digital healthcare solutions in both the local UK health market and further afield. His patient and provider-centered approach to outcomes are indicative of how he views medicine. In his own words.

I would like to see a shift in healthcare where both sets of users, the patients and clinicians, are the focus of digital change

He is about innovation delivering measurable benefits to both provider and patient and he believes the UK is very well positioned to provide digital solutions to a broader, global platform. You can read his views on a number of topics from the publications he writes for, such as Healthcare IT News and the Faculty of Future Health, or listen to recent podcasts at Anchor.fm and Apple Podcasts.

Medika also recently included Prof. Shah in our Top 50 List of Influential voices in Digital Healthcare.

On Digital Health

Sam was appointed as CMO for Numan in 2020. He was previously Director of Digital Development for NHS England and NHSX, where he was responsible for digital development of the ecosystem and leading on a number of national transformation programs. Sam has worked on a number of initiatives including the flagship project to digitize urgent care in the NHS. He headed up the national learning and development program for NHS England, which considered different channels to access healthcare using technology.

He has also been involved in the assessment of healthcare technology through a number of grant schemes and accelerator programs. Sam continues to work in the NHS within primary care and champions a range of agendas including improving diversity within the workforce; and reducing health inequalities. We’ve included a few of his key comments on digital health and innovation below, drawn from articles and interviews completed in the last year.

On Privacy and Healthcare data

There’s a strong argument that data should be shared more freely to allow better decision-making and enable more people in society to benefit. Some would even argue that health data is a public good. However, the challenge is that organizations have not yet demonstrated they can maintain privacy or safely handle data in a way that won’t lead to abuse.

On Digital Inequalities

Digital inequalities are unlikely ever to go away; this will probably always be a difference in society between access to technology, access to the internet and affordability. It’s doubtful that digital health services will meet everyone’s needs, which means health care providers, commissioners and technologists need to be realistic. Reducing inequalities is always multifaceted; it means those designing and implementing digital health services need to consider the wider social determinants and have a relentless focus on service and system design. For example, it’ll require investment in infrastructure, education, training and creating accessible digital services.

On Developers and Fundamental Values

I have worked with lots of healthcare and technology companies and prefer to work with those interested in promoting safety, security and privacy. Fundamentally, healthcare IT will impact on people’s lives often when they are most vulnerable. IT developers in healthcare need to be committed to sharing good practice, promoting clinical safety and inspiring trust and confidence through operating in a transparent way. The same values in healthcare around equity, equality, and availability need to be reflected in developers of IT solutions.

If your interests lie in digital healthcare, both in the UK and further afield, the opinions and insights of Sam Shah cannot be ignored. His intimate personal knowledge of the industry, coupled with a clear ethical vision for the industry’s future make him compulsory reading. Medika’s advice is that this is the one Professors’ classes you shouldn’t skip. Connect wih Sam below.

Getting in touch with Sam