What’s been happening in the health tech community over the last week? Take a look at our News in Brief to find out…
accuRx rolls out patient-centred record viewing system nationally
Following a successful pilot with four ICSs, accuRx Record View is now available to all NHS healthcare professionals free of charge.
The system means NHS professionals can request and instantly view a read-only summary of a patient’s GP medical record for 24 hours – with the patient’s permission.
Since the national launch, 193 patient records have been viewed by 50 secondary care professionals across acute, mental health and community NHS services. 60 percent of GPs have opted-in to have their patient records viewed by healthcare professionals outside primary care.
Ian Unitt, a staff nurse at a forensic hospital for people with learning disabilities, said, “We have long waiting lists, so by the time we see a patient, it’s often the case that the information provided by the GP in the referral is out of date. Record View allows us to have the most recent information at our fingertips. Additionally, some topics such as weight, urinary tract infections, etc can be difficult to bring up with a patient but are important to understand from a mental health point of view. Having it immediately accessible through Record View saves us and our patients time.”
Babylon opens two new London clinics
Babylon Health has opened two new clinics in London to provide patients with face-to-face appointments alongside its digital-first approach.
The company said that all patients must have a digital appointment before potentially being invited in for a face-to-face appointment, with the exception of appointments such as flu jabs or smear tests.
“In-person care is so important alongside highly-accessible digital appointments,” said Dr Matthew Noble, Babylon’s UK Medical Director, “and we are really excited to launch these two new clinics for our Babylon GP at Hand patients in London. We’ve seen a rise in the number of appointments and we are responding to this demand by opening two new clinics in convenient locations that will increase access to quality care when needed, while helping to minimise unnecessary GP visits, receive personalised attention as needed, and provide dedicated clinician time for the patients that need them most.”
Innovation Lab commissions discovery work exploring use of voice
The Innovation Lab is commissioning a supplier “for the provision of a discovery phase” which will include development of prototypes and user research, exploring how voice can be used as a channel alongside the NHS app, NHS.UK website and upcoming consolidated NHS Account, to allow patients to access personalised NHS services through smart speakers and voice assistants.
The contract is worth £110,000. Applications for suppliers close on 31 May, with the contract set to run between 20 June and 31 August.
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Health and Social Care Northern Ireland secures support of Tegria and Cloud21 for Encompass programme
Health and Social Care Northern Ireland (HSCNI), Tegria and Cloud21 are working together in a deal to support HSCNI’s national digital transformation ‘Encompass’ programme, a decade-long digital initiative.
The organisations will provide strategic guidance, programme readiness and EPR implementation expertise.
Irish digital pathology and AI company Deciphex raise £11.5 million in Series B funding
Deciphex a provider of pathology software and services has announced the closing of a £11.5 million Series B funding round, led by ACT Venture Capital, with participation from DCharles River Laboratories, Novartis, IRRUS Investments, Nextsteps Capital, HBAN Medtech Syndicate and other current investors.
The funding is set to ‘fuel’ Deciphex’s role in using artificial intelligence to accelerate pathology diagnositics, improving productivity and patient outcomes, and to drive global growth. In particular, it will focus on enhancing the company’s Patholytix research pathology platform, launching its Diagnexia clinical service in the United States, and supporting ongoing expansion in the UK, Canada, and Middle East.
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