Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes ICB have received additional funding from the Digitising Social Care Programme’s Adult Social Care Technology Fund, allowing them to continue offering support through the AI-driven pain assessment app, PainChek®.
When installed on a smartphone or tablet, PainChek® is capable of recognising facial expressions, using AI to “identify and quantify pain levels”. It’s currently being used to support patients who have communication difficulties, dementia or learning difficulties, gathering information which can then be used to create a data profile and help with medication prescribing.
According to the Digitising Social Care Programme, the app makes communication “more effective” and has reportedly led to a reduction in hospital admission as well as “more collaborative decision-making about pain management”. Other notable benefits include improvements in care quality and safety as well as an increase in support for people who want to live independently in their own homes.
The additional funding follows the initial pilot scheme undertaken in Bedfordshire, which saw the app supporting staff in identifying the pain levels of 465 patients. Since then, the region has reported that “more than 14,200 PainChek® assessments have been completed with a total of 764 residents across 25 different care locations”, with the new funding now aiming to support a further 994 people.
Cecilia Amadek, home manager at Oak Manor Care Home, spoke on the benefits of using the app, stating, “Using PainChek® in our care home helped us spot pain immediately, more easily …we don’t need to call the ambulances out so often, residents don’t need to go to hospital, don’t need paracetamol prescribed so often, because with this tool we can exactly see if they are in pain or not”.
AI in healthcare: the wider trend
Somerset NHS Foundation Trust recently shared a series of communications explaining to patients how technologies such as AI, ambient voice, virtual nursing and generative AI are being used throughout the trust. The communications aim to reassure patients, letting them know that clinicians may use ambient AI for real-time dictation during appointments and that patients have the option to opt out if they prefer.
Last month, NHS England published data on the use of the AI-driven, 3D heart scan technology, Heartflow, demonstrating its impact across 56 different NHS hospitals in England when diagnosing and supporting patients with suspected heart disease. A reported 24,300+ patients have benefited from Heartflow since it was introduced in 2021, which has reportedly led to a reduction of patients needing invasive angiogram tests by seven percent overall.
Plans for AI tool, My Companion to be integrated with the NHS App were recently detailed by the Department of Health and Social Care. Designed to provide patients with more choice and control over their own care, My Companion reportedly offers patients access to trusted health information while also helping them with articulating their health needs and preferences.
