Vodafone has formed an alliance with Deloitte to accelerate the adoption of connected healthcare.

The Vodafone Centre for Health with Deloitte is a virtual centre that brings together Vodafone’s connected health offerings with professional services network Deloitte’s healthcare consulting experience so more people can access healthcare when and where they need it.

The alliance will see digital, technology and healthcare professionals from the two organisations working together to simplify access to connected healthcare for both patients and healthcare professionals.

The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of connectivity to deliver critical services such as education and healthcare. Technology can be used to make the delivery of healthcare services more efficient for providers and more inclusive for patients.

A recent survey by the Vodafone Institute reveals that 92% of European citizens interviewed think the health sector needs urgent support through the EU’s Recovery & Resilience Facility (RRF). The Vodafone Centre for Health with Deloitte can accelerate this support through innovation and the enhanced digitalisation of healthcare in hospitals, in the community and at home. Digitalisation is a key goal for the EU and many governments as they build back better following the pandemic.

“Digitalisation is making its way to patients and professionals to become normalised,” said Lucien Engelen, global strategic healthcare innovation advisor. “It will provide a significant contribution to the accessibility and sustainability of healthcare now and in the future.”

Shafi Ahmed, consultant colorectal surgeon at Barts Health NHS Trust in the UK, added: “Covid has demonstrated the incredible value of collaboration between healthcare providers and industry partners to help redesign and reimagine the patient experience and improve outcomes. Connected health is vital in delivering more accessible, smart, remote and data driven personalised care.”

Vodafone already connects more than 20 million healthcare devices globally though IoT, AI, 5G and edge computing to the healthcare sector. For example, Vodafone and Universitätsklinikum Düsseldorf (UKD) are building Europe’s first 5G campus network at the university hospital.

“This strategic alliance will act as an accelerator of digital solutions to support the transformation of healthcare services and to help the societies we serve,” said Vodafone Group CEO Nick Read. “As a digital enabler, we want to bring Vodafone’s technology and platforms, coupled with Deloitte’s depth of sector experience, to support the digitalisation of hospitals, telemedicine, virtual medical consultations and remote solutions. As governments build back stronger, Vodafone will be there to enable their ambition.”

Deloitte has 24,000 skilled professionals in its global life sciences and healthcare team and a track record of providing services to healthcare organisations faced with the rapid adoption of digital healthcare, including delivering medical supplies by drone and using IoT technology to monitor patients’ feeding tubes. Over the next decade, Deloitte predicts that connected healthcare technology will see around a third of outpatient visits and half of GP consultations conducted virtually.

“The pandemic has widened inequalities within our society and the provision of healthcare is not as accessible or as inclusive as it should be,” said Richard Houston, CEO of Deloitte North and South Europe. “We want to change that, and technology will play a critical role. Over the next two decades, healthcare as we know it will be completely transformed, with digital and connected healthcare providing new and more efficient ways to diagnose, treat and support patients. Deloitte and Vodafone will be at the heart of this, working together to do so at scale, using our digital skills to transform healthcare provision for everyone.”

Both Vodafone and Deloitte say they are committed to using their networks and capabilities to improve access and quality of care worldwide. Starting across Europe, the Vodafone Centre for Health with Deloitte will then expand its capabilities to other geographies.