Patients in Staffordshire are set to benefit from innovative health technology said to diagnose heart problems that could cause a stroke, and remotely monitor their heart health.
The Loomer Medical Group has introduced the use of digital stethoscopes that allow clinicians to share audio recordings of a patient’s heartbeat with other professionals for a second opinion, along with a smartphone app that enables patients to record and check their heart rhythms from the comfort of their own homes, without need for a hospital visit or additional equipment.
FibriCheck is a medically certified app capable of measuring heart rates and detecting any possible arrhythmias using a patient’s smartphone or smartwatch. Following a screening of 70 patients, three were found to have atrial fibrillation, a heart condition causing an irregular and often abnormally fast heart rate. The app is now being rolled out at primary care networks across Staffordshire.
Dr Jack Aw, a GP and senior partner of the Loomer Medical Group, commented: “This is amazing for patient care and a massive cost saving to the system as these people could have had a stroke or heart attack in the future. These are three less potentially disabled individuals, who would not have been able to live healthier lives, be in work, and required care. Fibricheck has allowed us to be more responsive to patient care needs and helped with capacity in frontline general practice.”
In addition, GPs in the Loomer Medical Group have been using Digital Stethoscopes to record cardiac and pulmonary screenings as audio files. This means that district nurses, when working remotely, can have a GP listen virtually to a patient’s heartbeat. The stethoscope works by linking wirelessly to a mobile device, allowing clinicians to securely record, save, share, and annotate the audio files with other professionals for second a second opinion.
“We are also equipping a couple of care homes with the device so that we can improve the quality of assessments and the care that we provide,” said Dr Aw. “For them, it’s like having a GP by their side. It means we can take a multi-disciplinary approach.”
