Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust has awarded a new contract to the MyRenalCare app, a digital solution designed to support patients with kidney disease.
The £250k contract was procured to offer patients a way to “take control of their condition” while also allowing clinicians to provide guidance via virtual consultations, with the opportunity to request face-to-face care when required.
As part of the app, patients can review blood results and be supported with advice on these findings, without the need for a direct appointment with a consultant. The company website notes the app “can be used through all stages of kidney disease from early chronic kidney disease to dialysis and even transplant”.
The project is said to last until December 2027 with an optional 12-month extension, potentially taking the full length of the contract to the end of 2028.
In September, the company joined the DigitalHealth.London accelerator programme, one of 17 SMEs selected to develop digital solutions or services deemed to have the “highest potential to meet London’s NHS and social care challenges” in areas including AI, remote monitoring and mental health.
Investing in digital healthcare: the wider trend
UK health tech startup, Kidney Beam, recently received £610k in seed funding to help with improving virtual kidney care. This came after a clinical trial by Kidney Research UK and Kings College Hospital London, which reported a “significant improvement” in quality-of-life among those using Kidney Beam’s 12-week digital rehabilitation programme.
The University of Liverpool is expected to invest nearly £10 million in funding for a Civic HealthTech Innovation Zone (CHI-Zone), with a further £2.5m in funding expected from other sources including the university itself.
NHS England awarded two new contracts. One to BJSS Limited to support the development of the NHS.UK website and the wider portfolio and an extension on the IBM contract to continue their work on the NHS App and Login.
The UK government recently announced £82.6 million in research funding for three projects, two of which are using emerging technologies such as AI to tackle cancer. The government has made a commitment to provide researchers with access to “cutting-edge computing resources” to help harness “the power of AI”.
