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The DocCom system is similar to Facebook and allows clinicians to find colleagues, connect, collaborate and share information The DocCom idea was born when we were two young trainee surgeons frustrated by the ineffective communications that restricted our ability to make a difference. We saw that communication processes were broken in the NHS. We felt that a clinical social network with Facebook-like capabilities could be the solution that truly transformed patient care within UK hospitals. You have to have worked in healthcare to understand how archaic the systems are. Technology that is commonplace...

We find it hard to think of men as vulnerable, and their psychological suffering is often overlooked Over the past 30 years three to four times more men have taken their own lives than women, and at no point during this period has the rate of suicide in women been higher than that of men. This raises questions about why we haven't been thinking about the psychological needs of men and boys sooner. Men's Health Week aims to raise awareness of this and other mental health problems that men face. Traditionally, men are reluctant to seek help, have high levels of isolation, high rates of drug...

Rather than comic book heroes, it is often local heroes and the efforts of individual staff that produce co-ordinated care You would be forgiven for thinking that integration is the new fresh-faced comic book hero fearlessly felling all foes. A&E crisis? "No problem ma'am, a bit of integration will do wonders for that". Health service running out of cash? "Integration to the rescue!" Delayed discharges and poor patient experiences? "Integration will make that history". Hurrah! Back in the real world though, those of us using, managing or working in the care...

Use of the NHS is more common among the older and less wealthy and these groups are unlikely to have smartphones Do you remember when there was "an app for everything" – except for people who wouldn't stop saying "there's an app for that"? The catchphrase may have lost its ubiquity, but mobile apps are here to stay – Apple recently celebrated 50bn sold . The NHS has been slower off the mark than other sectors, but enthusiasm for health-themed apps is starting to permeate the health service. NHS Choices has started a health app library , and there has been a proliferation...

The health service's response to the Francis inquiry should be to engage and empower both staff and patients As NHS leaders meet in Liverpool for the NHS Confederation conference this week, I believe the health service stands at a crossroads with major decisions to make, and huge stakes riding on making the right ones. These decisions will shape the future and the culture of the NHS for the next five, 10 and arguably 65 years. It is my view that, in order to deal with the challenges facing the health service, we need a new strategy pursued systematically and rigorously, with no more hollow...

Rather than pointing the finger, it would be better to focus on lack of resources and an inability to increase service provision The strained relationship between central government and healthcare professionals has come to a head, with tensions running high on both sides. The King's Fund NHS leadership and management summit brought both parties together to analyse the failings of the healthcare system, although the conclusions were not entirely impartial. The health secretary's tactic of being critical of the primary care system in the face of accident and emergency failings is certainly...

Using data can help develop a fuller understanding of individuals and the factors affecting their social and physical health Everywhere in the world, health and social care is getting bigger – more patients, more caregivers, more facilities, more drugs, more cost. Healthcare spending alone is already a large percentage of the economy in most of Europe. It's 12% of GDP in the Netherlands and more than 11% of GDP in France and Germany. In the US healthcare consumes 17% of GDP. Unless we want to further disrupt already fragile national economies, it's time for us to get smarter about care...