Eleven years is a long time to be writing about'digital pharma', and I do indeed remember when it was all My First Twitter Account and iPhone Apps as far as the eye could see. Over those years some technologies have entered the digital health mainstream, while others have failed to live up to their promise, never emerging from what Gartner's Hype Cycle terms the Trough of Disillusionment. Stuck in those doldrums we might find, amongst others, Google Glass, Google's smart contact lens and Nokia's digital health ambitions, but one tech sector that is living up to the hype is artificial intelligence (AI). It has certainly featured on its fair share of'next big thing in health tech' lists over the years, but the last few months have seen a real sense of momentum build around the area. To stick with Gartner's Hype Cycle model for a moment, AI in pharma and healthcare is being rapidly driven up by what the consultants term the Slope of Enlightenment and towards the Plateau of Productivity. The headwinds for this were certainly there in 2018, when all the signs were that AI in pharma was on the rise.

The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care commissioned The Topol Review: Preparing the healthcare workforce to deliver the digital future, as part of the draft health and care Workforce Strategy for England to 2027 – Facing the Facts, Shaping the Future. The Topol Review, led by cardiologist, geneticist, and digital medicine researcher Dr Eric Topol, explores how to prepare the healthcare workforce, through education and training, to deliver the digital future. Dr Topol appointed a Review Board and three Expert Advisory Panels. HEE provided the secretariat team to facilitate the Review. The Topol Review is now published and it makes recommendations that will enable NHS staff to make the most of innovative technologies such as genomics, digital medicine, artificial intelligence and robotics to improve services.