Last week saw three very contrasting reports on technology adoption by care workers.  The first, by NESTA, was a fascinating read entitled Which doctors take up promising new ideas? New insights from open data. Unsurprisingly for those of us who have attempted to peddle new technology to GP practices, the key findings are that larger practices are more likely to be early adopters, and that early adopting practices tend to influence those close to them, resulting in islands of early adoption. (The first is not an inviolate rule I found – sure larger practices can specialise so can focus more on innovation, however a larger workforce can also mean a greater probability of a technophobe with a bee in their bonnet about a pet project that the technology is drawing funds from.)

The report is a great example of big data in action (more…)