On Wednesday 6 March 2024, DigitalHealth.London hosted its first online Innovation Spotlight series, the first of which focused on primary care. The webinar showcased four innovations from Cohort 7 of the DigitalHealth.London Accelerator, all dedicated to improving primary care services.
Aimed at a range of professionals working in the primary care sector – including GPs, practice leaders, administrators and commissioners – the webinar highlighted case studies from four of the companies currently in Cohort 7 of the DigitalHealth.London Accelerator program:
The session was structured to encourage peer-to-peer learning, moving away from the conventional sales pitch approach. Four people actively engaged in primary care settings presented the case studies alongside the companies, sharing their first-hand experiences with their innovations.
Managing long-term conditions with help
Dr. Steven Laitner
General Practitioner at Parkbury House Surgery St Albans
- Dr. Steven Laitner presented on behalf of a colleague who has integrated an Aide Health product into management strategies for patients with long-term conditions. This digital health service facilitates short daily interactions with patients, helping them adhere to their medications and capturing health data to share with their GP. Dr. Laitner presented a case study focused on the use of Aide Health with asthma patients, demonstrating its effectiveness in monitoring parameters such as blood pressure or peak flow, improving mental well-being and training on managing their health and making lifestyle adjustments.
Automation with Blinx PACO
Dr Ian Pawson
GP Partner and Central Liverpool PCN Clinical Director at Brownlow Health
- Dr. Ian Pawson explained how he used Blinx’s automation tools and their PACO system in four distinct use cases: mole clinic bookings, asthma health forms, birth control reminder and patient registration. He highlighted results showing a notable decrease in DNA (Did Not Attend) rates and substantial time savings for staff compared to traditional methods of booking appointments and collecting forms. Additionally, Dr. Pawson discussed some of the upcoming projects within his practice that were going to be managed through the PACO system, including medication review and rapid messaging capabilities.
Automate QOF pain with Hippo Recaller from Hippo Labs
Louis Williams
Head of Clinical Targets at Penrose Health
- Louis Williams, who oversees goal achievement improvement across Penrose Health’s eight sites, shared his perspective on the integration of Hippo Recaller software from Hippo Labs. This software automates callback lists, allowing patients to seamlessly schedule appointments at relevant clinics while providing analytical insights to track campaign progress. Williams illustrated a case study demonstrating how they effectively improved diabetes recall performance by redistributing the workload without adding time costs to the practice team.
Complete monitoring and recall automation with Abtrace
Dr Soumia Kolli
PCN Pharmaceutical Staff Manager at Islington GP Federation
- Dr. Soumia Kolli explained how using Abtrace’s Patient Population History Assessment Tool in her practice has streamlined appointments by flagging necessary actions (such as blood tests or measurements ) for action during consultations. Additionally, she demonstrated the system’s call/reminder and appointment scheduling features. Abtrace effectively measured these interactions, illustrating significant improvements over time in treating late patients compared to those who completed all necessary tasks during their visit.
Following the presentations, event chair Dr Caroline Chill (GP and Clinical Director of Care and Community Homes at Health Innovation Network (HIN) South London) led a panel discussion with the presenters and representatives from the company while answering questions from the public. The panel looked at the implementation process, staff acceptance of the new technology and savings in time and money.
Feedback from the session was overwhelmingly positive, with speakers encouraging attendees to seek out more information and consider adopting these innovations into their practices to improve time management and improve care and experience patients.
If you would like to find out more about DigitalHealth.London Innovation Spotlight or any of the companies featured in this article, please visit this information file or contact Karla Richards at karlarichards@nhs.net.
Aide Health, Blinx, Abtrace and Hippo Labs are currently in Cohort 7 of the DigitalHealth.London Accelerator programme.
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.
