Beware of the pendulum swing: how leaders can sustain rapid technology innovation beyond the COVID-19 crisis

In the wake of the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis, we caution against a return to old ways of working and, instead, urge healthcare leaders to consolidate and build on the recently achieved rapid gains in technology adoption. Primary care has been at the forefront, leading the dramatic surge in the use of telemedicine to deliver care through video consultations.1 2 This ability for telemedicine to deliver care at a distance, and with minimal contact, has been termed ‘ digital personal protective equipment (PPE) ’.3 These successful developments with life-changing consequences have whet the appetite with possibilities. As the context changes to the new ‘normal’, there is a growing determination to sustain and embed, rather than return to old ways of working. Although the shift to a care environment where virtual models of healthcare service delivery can be expected to increase, even predominate, the need to allow for human contact will remain an important, if not vital, consideration. We draw on our technology innovation research and wider scholarship in management to suggest two key strategies to sustain the momentum towards increasingly virtual models of care. First, the need to foster the joining up of care that has recently been catalysed through increased interoperability, data sharing and meaningful use. Second, together working that involves a shared leadership approach to service delivery. Such working towards a shared purpose has been fostered in the recent crisis where leaders sought to restore a sense of collective action, helping everyone realise we are in this together, working towards a common goal. The need for ‘joined-up thinking’ in healthcare is well established. Healthcare is delivered by a diverse set of stakeholders including primary, secondary and social care as well as those across local, regional and national levels. In addition, many chronic disease management pathways involve patients …