People, Process, Technology: Why NHS Innovation Needs a Human Approach with Dr Helen Hughes

In this episode I speak with Dr Helen Hughes, Associate Professor of Organizational Psychology at the University of Leeds and Director of the Behaviour Lab at Leeds Business School. Helen’s work focuses on the human side of systems, particularly how people think, feel and behave in complex environments such as healthcare and engineering.We discuss what ‘human factors’ means as a discipline and its application to both patient safety and wider technology adoption. Helen outlines the interplay between people, processes, technologies, and the overall healthcare system, emphasising that technology adoption always affects and is affected by the human and social dimensions of organisations. She says that it is not enough to focus on the technical aspects of adoption alone; the environment, existing processes, and particularly the people are equally, if not more, important.Helen shares insights from her work supporting technology implementation in healthcare and describes the pitfalls of “cookie cutter” approaches that fail to account for different cultures, contexts, and workflows across wards or organisations. Stressing the importance of early and sustained stakeholder engagement, bringing people with you rather than imposing change.We also discuss the idea of “system readiness.” While there are established ways of assessing if a technology is ready for use, there’s far less focus on understanding if the wider system is ready for the changes a new technology might bring. This episode is a useful introduction to the field of human factors, grounded in real-world experience and with practical takeaways for clinicians, digital teams, and technology companies alike.If you found this episode informative, don't forget to leave a review and share your thoughts. Thank you for tuning in!The Digital Ecology Podcast is part of the Talking HealthTech Podcast Network, your go-to audio destination for the latest in healthcare delivery, innovation, digital health, healthcare ICT, and commercialisation. Discover more at talkinghealthtech.com/podcast/network.