Our finalists in the category of best digital solution for patients are as follows…
Holly Health
Overview. Holly Health is a personalised data-driven health coach and behaviour platform designed to empower millions of adults with self-management of mental and physical health. Holly Health provides an evidence-based solution which has supported thousands of people and is set to partner with almost one hundred GP practices.
Why? – Research shows that significant numbers of people feel unsupported by their day-to-day health behaviours, correlating with a rise in chronic disease rates, type 2 diabetes, and mental health challenges. With health services already overstretched, Holly Health provides an accessible and scalable solution that can help to close the dap from just fifteen pence per patient per year.
What happened? – Built from psychological science and paired with data driven AI, the Holly Health app provides daily personalised coaching to support exercise, sleep, eating and mental well-being; around 84 percent of users reported the development of new automatic health habits after eight weeks of use, and a further 35 percent suggesting they believe they now need less support from their GP. One user commented: “I love how the app feels like you’ve got support no matter the time”.
Looking ahead – Holly Health will soon be launching in over one hundred GP practices with a view to cover the entire patient population in the UK.
Made Tech, Mace & Menter and NHS Gloucestershire
Overview – NHS Gloucestershire commissioned Mace & Menter and Made Tech to design a digital solution to reduce waiting times for young people’s mental health support. On Your Mind Glos gives young people easy access to over one hundred mental health support services.
Why? – Following COVID-19, waiting lists for mental health support for young people had grown significantly. NHS Gloucestershire wanted to explore how to use digital to reduce waiting times and improve young people’s mental health support. During the discovery phase, the team of NHS staff, researchers, front line workers etc found that many young people lacked information on how to access support, the length of waiting times and the lack of support whilst waiting. Many were also unaware of where to seek help outside of the NHS.
What happened? –In February 2022, Gloucester’s children and young people’s mental health services launched a digital support-finder, On Your Mind Glos. User research revealed that around 2,577 children and young people regularly visit the site since launching in schools alongside mental health awareness programmes – the site has reached around 100,000 young people so far. The support-finder allows them to make informed choices about the services they use and improves overall patient experience.
Looking ahead – As a result, NHS organisations with similar patient needs can potentially reuse and adapt the technology of On Your Mind Glos to engineer their own user interface and service.
Vinehealth
Overview. Vinehealth digital cancer support platform comprises the Vinehealth app, enabling cancer patient to track, manage and understand their medications and symptoms. The VinehealthPRO clinician facing dashboard enables clinicians to personalise care based on patient data and thus improve the cancer patient’s quality of life and health service.
Why? – Efforts to combat cancer have traditionally focused on episodic medical interventions and clinic appointments where often patients don’t take in information or accurately report symptoms to their clinicians. Lack of support leads to feelings of isolation, which can be detrimental on a patient’s quality of life. Through tracked patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) clinicians can offer more time and personalised decision making which is crucial in the context of limited healthcare resources and staff.
What happened? Vinehealth was co-developed with hundreds of patients and oncologists, using a combination of behavioural science and AI to allow patients to track and understand their care, supporting them to feel in control and better self-manage. The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust longitudinal study revealed 97 percent patient engagement, fewer A&E admissions and a reported 87 percent of patient reporting an improved quality of life using the platform.
Looking ahead. By continuing to build on patient feedback, Vinehealth continues to grow and develop its approach to personalised patient support; collecting ongoing PROMS data to ensure patient experience and more importantly, quality of life, is significantly improved.
CardMedic
Overview. CardMedic is an internationally recognised digital communications app that aims to reduce health inequalities for patients with additional communication needs. Curated and written by clinical experts, it consists of an A-Z library available in 44 languages, covering a wide variety of clinical situations.
Why? The founder, Dr Rachael Grimaldi read a story about a critically ill patient who couldn’t understand clinicians through their PPE. This highlighted to Rachael the longstanding problem of ensuring equitable healthcare for patients with communication barriers. Up to 50 percent of the population have additional communication needs such as deafness and cognitive impairment. These challenged create barriers and contribute to poorer care provision resulting in worse health outcomes.
What happened? Since CardMedic was introduced at University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust (UHS), patient confidence in care teams has increased by almost a third, from 67% to 95%, based on an independent evaluation conducted by the University of Brighton. CardMedic has also achieved competitive funding spots, such as securing a £75,000 Innovate UK grant, and won competitive industry competitions, such as Pitchfest at Digital Health Rewired. Recently, CardMedic has employed Kenyan refugees as translators to develop the library in partnership with StepUp. One and Kakuma Refugee Camp. This has enabled the company to find new use cases for the app and inspired the creation of new content.
Looking ahead – Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust are working to test CardMedic under the CW+ Innovation Programme. Additionally, CardMedic has signed its first US contract with the Nor-Lea Hospital District in New Mexico.
Definition Health
Overview. Definition Health offers a digital pathway that supports patients from the moment they are referred for surgery, through pre-op assessment and then into post-discharge phase when they have returned home. They provide an end-to-end approach to patients’ healthcare journeys through their web-based apps.
Why? Recognising the challenge of increasing surgery waiting lists, hindered by outdated, paper-heavy systems – Definition Health was founded to tackle the increasing importance of healthcare’s digital future. Through the LifeBox platform, patients can access all stages of their hospital journey from one account – creating a single source of truth for both patients and hospitals to share important medical and administrative information.
What happened? 95 percent of patients surveyed by Definition Health feel it is important to be able to complete part of their pre-assessment from home. Since the launch of LifeBox and its accompanying modules, Definition Health has implemented its solutions across 6 private sector and 20 NHS hospitals nation-wide and supported over 100,000 patients – showing a 60% reduction in face-to-face appointments.
Looking ahead. Definition Health continues to introduce its solutions to NHS and Independent hospitals nationwide with plans to facilitate the seamless flow of information between the primary and secondary care settings.
Inhealthcare
Overview. Inhealthcare has worked with Sussex Health and Care Partnership, Sirona Care and Health and Hampshire and the Isle of Wight ICS to roll out an Oximetry @ Home service to support patients with COVID-19. It helps identify silent hypoxia in patients with COVID-19, to reduce the risk of hospital admission.
Why? Silent hypoxia is the presence of low blood oxygen levels which can cause patients suffering with COVID-19 to become extremely unwell. In these cases, it is vital that the symptoms are reported quickly so that the patient can be monitored and instructed on how to self-manage. The service connects to GP systems including SystmOne, EMIS Web and hospital systems; the seamless sharing of information ensures a smooth patient journey with the right data made available to the best health care teams.
What happened? Feedback shows that the flexible contact methods worked well for patients with learning difficulties, sensory impairment, and mental health conditions, as well as those for whom English is not their first language. The Equality and Quality Impact Assessments completed by Sussex Health and Care Partnership noted that the service model enables patients to better understand their own health with 99% of responses rating the service as either a ‘good’ or ‘very good’ experience. The pathway improved access to NHS services for those in desperate need with the most severe symptoms. The survey showed that staff felt supported and engaged alongside a reduction in health inequalities across disadvantaged areas using the system.
Looking ahead. Inhealthcare continues to support communities afflicted by COVID-19 and delivering a highly effective service at a scale that meets local needs during a time of significant pressure on the NHS.
Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust
Overview. The Asthma Home Monitoring Service supports patients in managing exacerbation of their asthma symptoms safely at home.
Why? The impetus for the implementation of the asthma service came from the clinical staff at NGH working in partnership with Doccla, building on their earlier experience of using RPM for managing other conditions. RPM is a new concept for healthcare. The HMS provides a previously unavailable service for patients who experience acute exacerbation of their asthma. It shows that with additional support patients can self-manage these episodes in the community rather than attending A&E with the possibility of hospital admission.
What happened? Using NGH admission criteria, 75 percent of the patients avoided the need to be admitted, resulting in significant savings for every in-patient day. Thematic analysis revealed increased access to specialist advice, appreciation for being able to recover at home, and the importance of a service of this type for an individual’s needs. Patients expressed that an increase in access to specialist advice meant less need to visit A&E and made them feel safe and empowered to self-manage their asthma.
Looking ahead – A future goal is integration with System One meaning the service could encompass both primary and secondary care. NGH Asthma services and Doccla are working towards streamlining care pathways which will be linked with alerts triggered by the app that would divert the patient onto the appropriate pathway. Once this has been established, the service can be easily replicated and implemented by other Trusts for their asthma services.
Thriva
Overview. Thriva is a digital health company that is helping to increase the time people spend in good health through data-led personalised healthcare. Using home blood tests and GP reports, Thriva gives people the tools to make positive changes to their lifestyle, helping to prevent chronic diseases from developing.
Why? – COVID has accelerated the shift to remote and decentralised ways of delivering healthcare, at the same time those within the healthcare sector are more focused on tech enabled prevention, early identification of disease and tackling health inequalities. Thriva is helping the UK population spot the warning signs of disease, change their behaviours, and help to prevent chronic diseases developing rather than treating them after they develop. This takes pressure off the NHS, saves time and empower people to address the factor that cause ill-health – all from the comfort of their own home.
What happened? Thriva played a pivotal role in helping healthcare cope with the pandemic, working with the Department of Health and Social Care to provide a home testing solution for antibodies testing as part of the Government’s wider Test & Trace strategy. Under this initiative Thriva has delivered a home testing service to over two million people in the UK.
Looking ahead. Thriva is now building on years of remote diagnostics experience gained through its direct-to-consumer model, to launch Thriva Solutions, its first platform for organisations, which will bring its wealth of experience and technical capability in diagnostics to improve the lives of millions through healthcare providers and private companies.
