HTN #HealthTechToShoutAbout feature series
HTN approached data privacy and cyber security consultancy, IG-Smart Ltd, to ask them whether they were working with any clients that had #HealthcareTechToShoutAbout. Here we focus on some of IG-Smart’s clients that are delivering and developing digital innovations that are transforming patient care. Crucially, whilst embedding data protection by design and by default.
NSHI & Lung Health – Delivering Specialist Respiratory Care Services
Despite the availability of evidence-based guidelines, it is well recognised that there is a wide variation in patient outcomes across the UK which has not improved significantly over time. This has been recognised by NHS England in relation to the management of patients with asthma and COPD.
Motivated by the need to improve patient outcomes, the LungHealth guided consultation software (decision support software) was designed to ‘get behind the consulting room door’ with the aim of providing the most expert, guideline driven advice to healthcare professionals and patients during patient reviews. The software guides practitioners through the review and provides algorithm-driven consultations in line with the most recent guidelines with the software prompting the clinician to consider what the national/locality guidelines would suggest at every step of the patient review.
Lung Health’s technologies (for asthma, COPD and sleep) have embedded disease management guidelines and coupled with NSHI’s specialist nursing service have repeatedly shown improvement in diagnostic outcomes and guideline interventions when compared to standard care (which are shared as academic publications in Thorax, ERJ and the Primary Care Respiratory).
Co-owner of LungHealth, Eddie McKnight, believes that the LungHealth products also provide the NHS with the “opportunity to facilitate remote review solutions, during the COVID-19 pandemic (and beyond) by facilitating the on-going review of potentially vulnerable patients whilst keeping them safe.”
PerDoc – Developing private & secure patient/clinician comms
PerDoc is currently in the process of developing remote consultation solutions that are aimed at “improving long-term health for patients, whilst giving healthcare professionals the insights they need to provide personalised care and support.”
Eager to ensure alignment with GDPR and NHS specific best practice standards (like the Data Security & Protection Toolkit – DSPT), PerDoc commissioned IG-Smart Ltd at the earliest stage in the process, shortly after Founder and CEO Bhavin Garara, conceived the concept.
“Embedding patient data privacy and security into our solutions is of critical importance to PerDoc. Not only because we fundamentally respect patients rights and wish to deliver solutions that protect them, but also because it provides our clients and key stakeholders with the assurance they quite rightly demand.”
Whilst PerDoc’s solutions are still in development, they are worth shouting about because of the proactive approach that PerDoc has adopted towards embedding patient data protection and privacy throughout the software development life-cycle.
IG Smart commented: “Many healthcare tech organisations make the mistake of waiting until it is either extremely costly or too late to make changes or embed controls that may be necessary to ensure patient data privacy and security and compliance with industry specific standards like the DSPT. If you are in the process of developing healthcare tech solutions, don’t fall into the same trap!”
NSHI, Lung Health and PerDoc have partnered with IG-Smart Ltd for external advice and support in furtherance of their missions to continue to ensure that patient data privacy and security remain central to the services and solutions they deliver. IG-Smart Ltd is also NSHI’s and PerDoc’s designated Data Protection Officer, and partner for compliance with the NHS Data Security & Protection Toolkit.
To speak to an IG Smart Ltd. consultant or request a proposal please call + 44 (0) 207 167 4268 or email info@ig-smart.com www.ig-smart.com
