Embedding a Digital Therapeutic into NHS Primary Care: An HSJ-Shortlisted Case Study

I’ve recently had a piece of work shortlisted for Best Consultancy Partnership with the NHS at the 2026 HSJ Partnership Awards.

That recognition matters – but not for the trophy. It matters because this project tackles a question many people inside and outside the NHS are still wrestling with:

How do you embed innovation into NHS pathways in a way that clinicians trust, patients use, and the system can sustain?

This blog sets out exactly how that was done – and what others can learn from it.

Why I Believe This NHS Partnership Was Shortlisted for an HSJ Award

The HSJ shortlist recognises a partnership I helped bring together between Primary Care Warwickshire GP Federation and Otsuka Pharmaceuticals, piloting Rejoyn – a regulated, prescription digital therapeutic for adults with major depressive disorder.

Rather than focusing on the technology itself, the judges recognised the partnership model: how NHS primary care, industry and independent facilitation came together to design, govern and deliver a real world pilot that produced measurable outcomes and a credible route to scale.

The Challenge: Rising Mental Health Demand in NHS Primary Care

The context will be familiar to anyone working in general practice.

Mental health demand in primary care has risen sharply. Waiting times for NHS Talking Therapies are typically 4–8 weeks, and GPs are often left supporting patients during that gap with limited capacity for ongoing follow-up.

Digital therapeutics are frequently proposed as part of the solution. But potential alone doesn’t translate into adoption, especially when governance, workload and clinical accountability are unclear.

The challenge wasn’t whether digital tools could help. It was how to deploy them safely, responsibly and usefully within existing NHS pathways.

Why Digital Mental Health Tools Struggle to Embed in the NHS

On paper, both partners were well positioned. Primary Care Warwickshire had clear demand and strong clinical leadership. Otsuka had Rejoyn, a DTAC approved, UKCA marked digital therapeutic with a robust evidence base.

In practice, both were stuck.

• GPs had no clear governance route to adopt a regulated app within primary care workflows
• Industry had no mechanism to embed a digital therapeutic into day to day NHS practice

The barrier wasn’t about a lack of enthusiasm. It was a translation issue – between NHS governance, clinical reality and industry delivery models.

My Role: Acting as an Independent Facilitator Between the NHS and Industry

My role was not to promote a product or redesign care from the outside.

It was to act as an independent facilitator, aligned to NHS priorities, trusted by clinicians, and able to bridge the operational, clinical and commercial dynamics that often stall progress.

That involved:

• Creating shared governance and information governance confidence
• Translating NHS operational constraints into a workable delivery model
• Supporting co-design between GP practices and implementation teams
• Ensuring the pilot aligned with national policy while remaining locally deliverable

Without that facilitation, the partnership would not have moved from intent to action.

Designing a Safe, Governed NHS Pilot in Primary Care

The pilot was intentionally small and structured. A six month pilot was launched across three GP practices, with GPs referring appropriate patients directly into Rejoyn. Patients gained immediate access via a smartphone app, alongside standard care.

The intervention combined cognitive emotional training with structured therapeutic lessons, delivered in a way that felt familiar to practices and low-burden to staff.

Crucially, this was not bolted onto existing workflows. Eligibility criteria, referral processes, onboarding scripts and patient messaging were co-designed with frontline teams to ensure clinical ownership and confidence.

Clinical and Operational Outcomes from the Rejoyn NHS Pilot

Across the six month pilot:

• 69 patients were referred across three practices
• 88% showed improvement on PHQ-9
• 60% achieved a clinically significant ≥5-point reduction
• No adverse effects were reported

Patients began treatment immediately, bypassing the typical wait for Talking Therapies. Many reported reduced anxiety simply from being able to start support straight away.

From a practice perspective, the pilot delivered measurable benefits without increasing workload and this was absolutely key to getting the partnership off the ground.

GPs reported fewer mental health follow-ups and improved continuity of care, with patients better able to manage symptoms independently after initial engagement.

As one GP involved in the pilot noted: “The level of engagement and clinical improvement we’ve seen shows how Rejoyn can enhance care, especially as an early intervention ahead of traditional talking therapy referrals. It gives patients control and relieves pressure on general practice.”

Why This NHS Digital Therapeutic Pilot Succeeded

This project worked because it avoided three common mistakes.

1.     First, governance was treated as foundational, not optional. DTAC assurance, DSPT, DPIA and clinical oversight were in place from the outset.

2.     Second, it fitted how primary care actually operates. Nothing was imposed. Practices retained ownership of care, supported by a tool that complemented, rather than disrupted, existing workflows.

3.     Third, scale was earned, not assumed. The pilot was designed to generate trust, evidence and learning before expansion was even discussed.

Scaling Digital Therapeutics Across the NHS: What Comes Next

Learning from the Warwickshire pilot has informed a 12-month expansion plan across the wider Primary Care Warwickshire footprint, with exploration of alignment into local Talking Therapies pathways.

Barriers addressed during the pilot – including information governance, onboarding and referral criteria – are now codified into a replicable model that other systems can adopt without starting from scratch.

All pilot practices have committed to continued use, and interest from beyond Warwickshire is already emerging.

What This Case Study Shows About Embedding Innovation into NHS Pathways

Digital therapeutics will inevitably play a bigger role as the NHS pushes for earlier intervention, better access and improved productivity. But this project reinforced something that’s easy to overlook: adoption doesn’t happen because a technology is promising or well intentioned.

It happens when innovation is built to operate inside the NHS as it really is. When governance is treated as a foundation rather than a hurdle. When new tools fit existing clinical workflows instead of asking already stretched teams to adapt around them. And when outcomes are measured in a way the system can trust, scrutinise and act on.

This case study shows that embedding innovation into NHS pathways doesn’t have to be slow, risky or superficial. With the right partnership model, it can be deliberate, evidence led and genuinely useful to both clinicians and patients.

The HSJ shortlist is a welcome recognition — but the more important outcome is the proof that this kind of work is achievable when it’s done properly.

The real value lies in what this case study demonstrates, a practical, repeatable blueprint for how industry and the NHS can work together to deliver meaningful change.

At www.scottmckenzieconsultancy.com, we work directly inside the NHS, supporting provider organisations, commissioners and system leaders to implement real change. We then help pharma, medtech and device companies interpret what’s happening, so they can engage the right stakeholders, align with NHS priorities and get their innovations embedded into care pathways.

With 10 years in pharma and more than 20 years working within the NHS, Scott brings a unique dual perspective, now captured in his book Embedded: How Pharma, MedTech, and Device Companies Can Get Their Products into NHS Pathways and Stay There, which distils everything he’s learned into a practical playbook. Whether you’re launching a new product or trying to unlock stalled adoption, Scott’s Embedded Membership Programme offers expert insights, workshops and coaching to show you how to reframe your offer, align with NHS priorities and make change stick.