In this case study, Sandra Firth, Neighborhood Clinical Team Manager at Beckenham and Penge District Nursing, explains how DigitalHealth.London Accelerator Healthy.io’s wound management app, Minuteful for Wound, helped the Beckenham district nursing team to improve the care of their patients’ wounds. The main benefits observed include increased accuracy of wound data and improved efficiency in wound management.
Preview
Minuteful from Healthy.io for wounds is a digital wound management solution consisting of a smartphone app, a workload management portal and a BI dashboard. The solution is DTAC compliant, CE accredited and uses innovative AI and machine learning to provide consistent measurement and assessment data to better understand wounds, helping clinicians dynamically monitor their workload by wound material.
The Beckenham district nursing team launched a project to trial the app, tasking staff with downloading it and using it to photograph wounds.
the project’s objectives
The project was initiated with the primary goal of improving the accuracy of wound data and enabling staff to monitor wound development over long periods of time. While one team quickly adopted the application from the start of the project, it took several months before other teams followed suit.
The wound condition assessment process has been streamlined, allowing rapid identification of any deterioration or stagnation in healing, prompting senior nursing staff to intervene quickly. The accessibility of the application ensures that wound data is easily retrievable, saving senior managers significant time during patient examinations.
Notably, patient engagement remained high, with their active interest in the project, despite no changes to the photography process in terms of duration or procedure. This seamless integration of technology has helped improve the efficiency of wound management, thereby improving the quality of patient care.
“I love it (the app) now; I can easily see the progress of a wound and it (the app) is easy to use.
George
Registered Nurse
Impact/Results
- Senior managers can perform clinical exams without visiting multiple patients
- Creation of new care plans after review, leading to reduced antimicrobial use
- Ability to monitor wound progress by viewing all photos together
- The app clearly identifies wounds that are deteriorating and static.
- Possibility of case finding and referral to specialized services in the event of deteriorated or static wounds.
The project successfully achieved its initial objectives, and we are now seeing additional benefits through improved injury review and surveillance within our caseload.
Next steps
Following the success of the trial, the app’s licenses were extended to include regular staff at the Beckenham District Nursing Agency. After 12 months, we believe we are just beginning to realize the potential benefits of the application, as senior management begins to fully explore the benefits.
We plan to expand the rollout to other nursing wards in the district and hold regular meetings with the Tissue Viability Nurses (TVNs) within each team to identify and review more complex wounds.
Learn more about Healthy.io and Minuteful for wounds.
THE DigitalHealth.London Accelerator The program is funded by the UK government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF). It is delivered by the Health Innovation Network (HIN) South London in partnership with the Office of Life Sciences, CW+, Medicity, NHS England, the Mayor of London and the Leveling Up Fund.
For more information, please visit https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-
Shared Prosperity Fund prospectus.
