Additional private sector finance is needed for the digital transformation of UK healthcare, according to a survey by Siemens Financial Services (SFS).

Respondents to the survey said that new generation digitalised diagnostics, remote access and communications platforms, and digitalised hospitals required the most investment over the next five years.

SFS’s research identified priority investment areas, the amount of money needed, and how healthcare organisations can manage the challenge.

It found that digitalised diagnostics would need £1.17 billion; remote access and communications platforms would need an estimated £1.4 billion, while digitalised hospitals would need £1.3 billion from 2019 to 2023.

SFS said ageing populations, changing lifestyles and diets, and rising levels of chronic complaints are rapidly increasing the pressure on healthcare systems around the world. The company added that the digitalisation of healthcare could be an enabler to cope with the rising demand, improving patient outcomes, but without incurring escalating costs.

However, the level of investment required outstrips normal capital budgets available to healthcare providers, so additional private sector finance is needed.

Chris Wilkinson, head of sales for healthcare and public sector for Siemens Financial Services UK, said: “Using specialist knowledge of the healthcare sector, each individual arrangement, whether for a single piece of technology or equipment, or for an enterprise-wide strategic digital upgrade, can be flexed to meet the organisation’s particular clinical and cash-flow needs.

“A range of financing tools is available, designed to enable digital transformation by allowing healthcare organisations to pay to use the new generation technology. This helps them save precious capital while realising the benefits of digitalisation.”