What happens when you bring GPs, pharmacies, NHS England stakeholders, and digital health suppliers into one room for a hackathon-inspired challenge? You get something genuinely special.
Together with the NHS and PCC, The Curve co-organised the first-ever Digital Pharmacy Hackathon, a bold experiment designed not around pitching solutions, but around co-discovery and establishing a shared understanding.
Five mixed-supplier teams, each pairing an established supplier with a new entrant, rotated through structured conversations with NHS stakeholder groups. These sessions explored real-world pharmacy challenges and pressure-tested early-stage ideas through focused, open dialogue.
The result was one of the most valuable collaborations we’ve seen. Established suppliers gained fresh insight. Newcomers brought energy and bold thinking. And we at The Curve, despite being outsiders to this particular domain, participated from the perspective of a supplier ourselves, learning a huge amount while adding meaningful value to the conversations.
It reinforced a belief we’ve held for a long time: the best outcomes don’t come from handing over a requirements list. They come from shared problem-solving, open minds, and honest conversations.
To keep this momentum going, procurement processes must evolve. We need collaboratively developed standards for integration and operations, the kind that allow new players to break through, foster healthy competition, and push boundaries.
That’s how we improve the technology, the staff experience, and ultimately, the patient journey.
Software Engineer (Sheffield/Remote)