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News Article
NHS given its 10 priorities for 2022
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
NHS England has set out 10 priorities for 2022-23 in its annual planning guidance. NHSE chief executive Amanda Pritchard makes clear in an introduction that many of its goals remain contingent on covid, stating: ”The objectives set out in this document are based on a scenario where covid-19 returns to a low level and we are able to make significant progress in the first part of next year.” The 10 priorities are: Workforce investment, including “strengthening the compassionate and inclusive culture needed to deliver outstanding care”. Responding to COVID-19. Delivering “significantly more elective care to tackle the elective backlog”. Improving “the responsiveness of urgent and emergency care and community care capacity.” Increasing timely access to primary care, “maximising the impact of the investment in primary medical care and primary care networks”. Maintaining “continued growth in mental health investment to transform and expand community health services and improve access”. Using data and analytics to “redesign care pathways and measure outcomes with a focus on improving access and health equity for underserved communities”. Achieving “a core level of digitisation in every service across systems”. Returning to and better “prepandemic levels of productivity”. Establishing integrated care boards and collaborative system working, and “working together with local authorities and other partners across their ICS to develop a five-year strategic plan for their system and places”. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 24 December 2021 -
News Article
NHS Digital and NHSX to merge with NHS England
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
It has been revealed that both NHS Digital and NHSX are to be incorporated into NHS England and Improvement. In a letter to staff, NHS England and Improvement’s chief executive, Amanda Pritchard said: “As a single organisation, we can further accelerate the digital transformation of the NHS and redouble our efforts to address health inequalities...” Pritchard praised NHSX and NHS Digital for their critical role throughout the pandemic delivering the NHS Covid Pass, Covid vaccine systems, virtual wards and many other innovations. Going forward she said: “Our Transformation Directorate will continue to lead the digital transformation agenda for the NHS and social care at national and ICS level, alongside colleagues from Improvement and Innovation, Research and Life Sciences.” In other major changes, Pritchard also announced that Health Education England is to merge with NHS England and Improvement. Secretary of state for health and social care, Sajid Javid, said: “To ensure our record NHS investment makes a lasting impact, I am bringing workforce planning and digital transformation into the heart of the NHS." “These reforms will support our recovery from Covid-19 and help us tackle waiting lists to give patients excellent care in years to come. Read full story Source: Digital Health, 22 November 2021 -
News Article
AI skin cancer diagnoses risk being less accurate for dark skin – study
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Artificial intelligence (AI) systems being developed to diagnose skin cancer run the risk of being less accurate for people with dark skin, research suggests. The potential of AI has led to developments in healthcare, with some studies suggesting image recognition technology based on machine learning algorithms can classify skin cancers as successfully as human experts. NHS trusts have begun exploring AI to help dermatologists triage patients with skin lesions. But researchers say more needs to be done to ensure the technology benefits all patients, after finding that few freely available image databases that could be used to develop or “train” AI systems for skin cancer diagnosis contain information on ethnicity or skin type. Those that do have very few images of people with dark skin. Dr David Wen, first author of the study from the University of Oxford, said: “You could have a situation where the regulatory authorities say that because this algorithm has only been trained on images in fair-skinned people, you’re only allowed to use it for fair-skinned individuals, and therefore that could lead to certain populations being excluded from algorithms that are approved for clinical use." “Alternatively, if the regulators are a bit more relaxed and say: ‘OK, you can use it [on all patients]’, the algorithms may not perform as accurately on populations who don’t have that many images involved in training.” That could bring other problems including risking avoidable surgery, missing treatable cancers and causing unnecessary anxiety, the team said. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 9 November 2021 -
News ArticleFrom next month, patients will be able to access all new entries in their online health records, if their GP practice use TPP or EMIS IT systems. According to NHS Digital, patients who use online accounts – such as the NHS App – and whose surgery uses TPP, will be able to view entries from December 2021 onwards. While, patients on an EMIS system should expect to see theirs from ‘early 2022’. Practices which use the Vision system are still currently in discussions over access. NHS Digital says that patients will not be able to see specific personal information, such as positive test results, until they have been ‘checked and filed’, so that GPs have the opportunity to contact them first. The body adds that the move, ‘supports NHS Long Term Plan commitments to provide patients with digital access to their health records’, and also shares its aim for patients to be able to request their historic coded records from 2022, through the NHS App. As ’80 per cent of the 18 million NHS App users’ are said to want ‘easy access to their health records and personal information’, it’s hoped that the initiative will reduce queries around negative test results and referrals, and encourage patient awareness and empowerment in regards to their health. However, NHS Digital does advise General Practice staff to ‘be aware that patients will be able to see their future records’, and to ensure ‘sensitive information is redacted as it is entered’ into systems, with a support package and training sessions available to guide clinicians and staff in these areas. Read full story Source: Health Tech Newspaper, 5 November 2021
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News Article
GPs to follow new digital standard for sending medicines and allergy information
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
A new information standard has been developed for sharing digital information on medication and allergies across different parts of health and social care services. The standard, which aims to reduce medicines errors comes into effect this month. NHS and social care organisations will have to show compliance by March 2023. GP practices, hospitals, mental health trusts, pharmacists, community teams and residential care homes will all have to meet the standard when transferring medication and prescription information between teams. The standard will be particularly helpful in reducing medication errors when patients transfer between care locations NHS Digital said. Having specific requirements in place for how medicine and allergy information is transferred will also provide clinicians with a more detailed and consistent source of medicines related information across all care settings and allow them to obtain medicines information more quickly and efficiently, they added in a document outlining the changes. The standard defines how the send and receive messages involving medicines information are constructed, and how the data within is structured so that it is machine-readable when sent between different IT systems. Dr Simon Eccles, deputy CEO of NHSX and national chief clinical information officer said: ‘This new standard will make medicine prescribing safer for patients and easier for clinicians, reducing errors in prescription and improving the monitoring of medications that can cause harm. ‘This is the result of a true collaborative effort between NHSX, NHS Digital, industry and the frontline that will make a real difference to the care and support local clinicians can provide to their patients." Read full story Source: Pulse, 28 October 2021 -
News Article
GPs think older patients cannot handle health apps on phones
Clive Flashman posted a news article in News
Over-55s are not being recommended useful health technology as GPs presume they cannot use a smartphone, say researchers Older patients are being excluded from beneficial health technology because “ageist” doctors presume they cannot work a smartphone, research has suggested. Experts have accused doctors of “stereotyping” older people as being incapable of using technology and warned patient safety was being put at risk by a failure to support them in using appropriate online health tools. GPs typically recommend NHS-approved health apps to about one in 10 patients aged under 35 to help them manage their conditions between appointments, such as by reminding them to take medications or monitoring their symptoms. However, doctors recommend the same apps to just one in 25 patients over 55 and one in 50 patients over 65, according to research by the Organisation for the Review of Care and Health Apps (ORCHA), which assesses apps for the health service. The same research found 55 per cent of over-55s would be happy to try using a health app if it was recommended, while nine in 10 over-55s and eight in 10 over-65s who have used a health app felt satisfied or very satisfied with the experience. The NHS Long Term Plan states that patients should have access to “digital tools” to manage their health and studies have shown NHS-approved health apps can have clinical benefits. Older people ‘will benefit from digital products’ However, Helen Hughes, the chief executive of the charity Patient Safety Learning, suggested ageist assumptions about older people’s technological ability meant they were missing out. “The data suggests that older people maybe being stereotyped, with assumptions they won’t be computer literate,” she said. “Plenty of older people are tech savvy – or at least willing to learn – and will really benefit from being able to manage their health from home, using digital products. Older patients need to be offered technology solutions with support on how best to use them, if this is needed.” She warned there was also “a significant patient safety issue” with the failure to advise patients about NHS-approved apps, as it left older patients at risk of inadvertently downloading one of the thousands of unreliable health apps available. To read the full article (paywalled), click here Original Source: The Telegraph -
News Article
NHS Trust chiefs warn funding needed for post-COVID digital uptake
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
A major survey of NHS IT chiefs has revealed that despite more positive attitudes and uptake towards technology as a result of COVID-19, the long-term challenges of digital transformation within hospital trusts remain unchanged and only 14% of respondents believe they have sufficient funding to cover business priorities. The Digital Health Intelligence NHS IT Leadership Survey, carried out annually by Digital Health Intelligence, offers a 'state of the nation' insight into the priorities, concerns and challenges faced by NHS chief clinical information officers (CCIO’s), Chief Information Officer’s (CIOs) and other relevant digital health leaders. It revealed that despite record levels of positivity for digital transformation - 83% of respondents said the pandemic had resulted in a more positive attitude to digital among board members, up on 63% the previous year - just 24% are expecting a significant rise in funding and 14% think budgets will decrease. Read full story Source: Digital Health, 15 December 2020 -
News ArticleNiamh McKenna, Chief Information Officer at NHS Resolution, hosted the recent digital focussed event, ‘2020: A Catalyst for Rapid NHS Digital Transformation’. Panellists from NHS England & Improvement, Health Education England, and Microsoft, looked to dissect the rapid acceleration of digitalisation in our NHS over the last twelve months, and what this means for our sector and our workforce. The two hour event hosted over 100 attendees and live-streamed on YouTube, allowing delegates to hear about the key considerations for the impact of a new digital-first way of working. Looking at the good and the bad from the last twelve months, the panellists shared insight into digital-first training, technology fatigue on the workforce, revolutionary digital approaches from case studies on COVID-19 wards, and much more. One important topic associated with digital is the role of learning for our NHS workforce, and Henrietta Mbeah-Bankas, Head of Blended Learning and Digital Literacy at Health Education England, raised some interesting opportunities, challenges, and considerations around digital learning for the workforce: “Properly defining digital literacy is one of the first vital steps for a digital transformation strategy to succeed, we can’t continue to make assumptions like ‘Millennials are digital-natives’." “There are three groups we need to consider to properly develop an inclusive digital transformation strategy that will be effective – the digitally engaged, digitally ambivalent, and those that say, ‘I don’t do tech’. For me there’s also a fourth group, those who are actually digitally excluded. Until you understand the barriers these people have and consider how they’ll approach digital solutions, you can’t begin to create an inclusive digital strategy that will ensure everyone comes on the journey with you." Niamh's key take-away from the event was that we need to make sure we continue to embrace rapid digital transformation, use it as a catalyst to get stuff done, improve work, improve lives, and improve patient care. We must use all this data available to us to understand the good and the not so good outcomes from the pandemic to shape initiatives for our new future. A recording of this event is now available to watch on demand here, along with downloadable supportive resources shared by the panellists. Read full story Source: Health Tech Newspaper, 30 November 2020
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News ArticleLondon-based HealthUnlocked has been acquired by worldwide leader Corrona. HealthUnlocked is a social network of 1.3 million patients across hundreds of condition-specific communities. Moderated by over 500 patient advocacy groups, it captures insights to better understand what matters most to these patients. Corrona, based in Massachusetts, US, describes itself as a built-for-purpose source of gold-standard real-world evidence. “By combining with HealthUnlocked, we are expanding our broad set of capabilities–ranging from highly granular and longitudinal structured data across our eight registries, to broader patient insights from HealthUnlocked,” said Abbe Steel, Chief Patient Officer of Corrona. “The HealthUnlocked communities provide access to engaged patients across the globe, allowing us to better understand the patient experience and what matters most to patients." Read full story Source: Business Cloud, 22 October 2020
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News ArticleA pharmacist-led, new digital intervention that improves patient safety when prescribing medication in general practice reduced rates of hazardous prescribing by more than 40%, 12 months after it had been introduced to 43 GP practices in Salford, finds a new study. Due to its success, plans are underway to roll it out across Greater Manchester. Prescribing and medication are one of the biggest causes of patient safety incidents and the third WHO Global Patient Safety Challenge is focussed on Medication without Harm. The SMASH intervention addresses this. It was developed by researchers at the National Institute for Health Research Greater Manchester Patient Safety Translational Research Centre (NIHR GM PSTRC), which is a partnership between The University of Manchester and Salford Royal hospital in collaboration with The University of Nottingham. Pharmacists working in general practice use the SMASH dashboard to identify patients who are exposed to potentially hazardous prescribing. For example, patients with a history of internal bleeding may be prescribed medications such as aspirin which could increase the risk of further internal bleeds without prescribing other treatments to protect them. SMASH identifies this and warns healthcare professionals about it, who can then decide on a possible course of action. The intervention is unique due to its ability to provide near real time feedback to prescribers as it updates every evening. Professor Darren Ashcroft, Research Lead for the Medication Safety theme at the GM PSTRC, said: "We worked with the Safety Informatics theme at the GM PSTRC to develop then test SMASH. It is designed to improve patient safety in general practice by reducing potential problems made when prescribing medication and inadequate blood-test monitoring. It brings together people and data to reduce these common medication safety problems that all too often can cause serious harm." Read full story Source: EurekAlert, 14 October 2020
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News Article
Need for tech to reduce medication error and improve patient safety
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Omnicell UK & Ireland, a leading provider of automated healthcare and medication adherence solutions, hosted a health summit on the eve of World Patient Safety Day, to discuss the impact of medication errors on patients and the NHS. The session focussed on the role technology can play in preventing such issues. The summit, this year held via webinar, comes off the backdrop of the Department of Health and Social Care disclosing that in England 237 million mistakes occur every year at some point in the medication process. These errors cause serious issues for patient safety, but also place a significant cost burden on an already stretched NHS. The 2019 Patient Safety Strategy published by NHS England and NHS Improvement also found the NHS failed to save 11,000 lives a year due to safety concerns with the cost of extra treatment needed following incidents being over £1bn. A number of high-profile panel members answered a series of questions from the audience on solutions and best practice to improve patient safety with the aim of debating and sharing ideas on how to meet challenges and the impact of COVID-19. One of the panelists, Patient Safety Learning's Chief Digital Office Clive Flashman, agreed with the other panel members that the NHS had become more collaborative and familiar with technology since Covid: “We’ve seen a definite increase in telehealth and telemeds. Covid has forced cultural blockers that were there before to be removed out of necessity. There has been a growth in robotic pharmacy automation to free up staff time from high volume administration tasks to do more complex work that adds value for patients.” But with the second-wave of COVID-19 still a very real threat he advised: “We don’t want to wait until the next wave to learn a lesson – we need to learn lessons now. Quality Improvement Leads should be focussed on what went right and what went wrong over that period between March and May. They need to be looking at what we can learn from that now and what we can do differently next time. If we don’t do that, we won’t succeed in the second wave where we might fail.” Ed Platt, Automation Director, Omnicell UK & Ireland, added: “Challenges within the NHS throughout Covid has forced them to embrace technology and drive innovation." "It’s important that when things go back to normal, we don’t go back to the same status quo. We need to invest in the right infrastructure in hospitals so unnecessary demands and stress are not put on pharmacy, supply managers and nurses so they are free to focus on patient care not administration tasks." Read full story Source: NHE, 17 September 2020 You can watch the webinar on demand here -
News Article
Seven NHS hospital trusts to receive share of £8.7m for e-prescribing
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
A further £8.7million is to be dished out to seven NHS hospital trusts to introduce digital records and e-prescribing. The money is part of a £78million investment which was announced in February 2018 and aims to accelerate the roll out of electronic prescribing systems across the NHS. The latest funding is part of the third wave of the investment, which will be handed out over three years. In 2018/ 19, £16.2 million was awarded, £29.4 million was given in 2019/20 and another £12 million will be invested later this year. The seven trusts which will benefit from this latest round of finding are: Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust (£1.7m) Solent NHS Trust (£988,000) Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust (£637,000) United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust (£1.26m) North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Trust (£2m) East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust (£1.6m) Birmingham Community NHS Trust (£531,000) National director of patient safety, Dr Aidan Fowler, said: “Patient safety is of paramount importance and is something we are continuously looking at ways to improve, whether through new technology, such as the introduction of electronic prescribing, or by building a safety culture where all NHS staff feel supported and safe to speak up.” Read full story Source: Digital Health, 1 October 2020 -
News ArticleMore patients and healthcare staff will benefit from single electronic patient records as 7 hospital trusts receive a share of £8.7 million to introduce digital records and e-prescribing, Minister for Patient Safety Nadine Dorries announced today on World Patient Safety Day. The roll-out has already been introduced to over 130 NHS trusts, and is part of a £78 million investment to deliver the ambition set out in the NHS Long Term Plan to introduce electronic prescribing systems across the NHS. NHS trusts will now be able to more quickly access potentially lifesaving information on prescribed medicines and patient history, and build a more complete, single electronic patient record, which reduces duplication of information-gathering, saves staff time and can reduce medication errors by up to 30%. The funding was announced at a virtual conference organised by Imperial College London to mark World Patient Safety Day. Read press release Source: Gov.uk, 17 September 2020
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News Article
Patients harmed after roll-out of new IT system
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Patients have come to avoidable harm after a large private provider failed to deliver thousands of medicine prescriptions, according to a report from the Care Quality Commission. Healthcare at Home, which is based in Staffordshire but provides NHS-funded care and medicine supplies to patients’ homes across the country, has been rated “inadequate” and placed in special measures. A report published today said inspectors found more than 10,000 patients missed a dose of their medicine between October and December 2020 due to problems caused by the introduction of a new information system. Reviews have found some suffered avoidable harm as a result. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 13 May 2021 -
News Article
NHS trust to improve digital messaging for deaf and deafblind patients
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS FT has launched a deaf digital inclusion project, to find the best practice for communicating with deaf and deafblind patients. The project will look at the barriers faced by the patients around digital communications, and how to help the staff become more deaf aware. The deaf and deafblind patients supported by the trust, their carers, staff, and members of deaf wellbeing groups and networks, are taking part in the project to help provide the best digital communications support to meet deaf patients’ needs. The project is led by the trust’s deaf services team which provides a range of support to deaf and deafblind people aged 18 and over, who mainly use British Sign Language (BSL) to communicate, who also have mental health problems. Emmanuel Chan, Clinical Nurse Specialist for the deaf services team, :explained: “People who are oral and require lip reading can find video appointments a challenge if others on the call are not fully deaf aware and talk over one another. Alongside our project, our team aims to help our staff become more deaf aware to avoid this happening.” Read full story Source: NHE, 26 April 2021 -
News Article
COVID-19 mental health support programme made free for all
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
SilverCloud, a digital mental health platform, has launched a new COVID-19 support programme – ‘Space from COVID-19’ – which it has made free and available to everyone in the UK over the age of 18 years, indefinitely. The company hopes to improve access to digital mental health services during the pandemic and beyond, to help shoulder some of the demand that now faces health services in the UK and across the globe. SilverCloud’s new programme brings together a suite of digital resources and support that will assist users in managing and improving their mental health and wellbeing, specifically in regard to the impact of COVID-19. Crucially, it removes potential barriers by being open to all, with or without a clinical referral, and is fee-free for everyone. Dr Lloyd Humphreys, Clinical Psychologist and Head of Europe for SilverCloud, told HTN: “For us, what is really important is to support people during this difficult time. Everyone is talking about the mental health impact of COVID-19, everyone is talking about the problem, but no-one is really offering a solution." Read full story Source: Health Tech Newspaper, 8 April 2021 -
News ArticleThat throbbing headache just won’t go away and your mind is racing about what may be wrong. But Googling your symptoms may not be as ill-advised as previously thought. Although some doctors often advise against turning to the internet before making the trudge up to the clinic, a new study suggests that using online resources to research symptoms may not be harmful after all – and could even lead to modest improvements in diagnosis. Using “Dr Google” for health purposes is controversial. Some have expressed concerns that it can lead to inaccurate diagnoses, bad advice on where to seek treatment (triage), and increased anxiety (cyberchondria). Previous research into the subject has been limited to observational studies of internet search behaviour, so researchers from Harvard sought to empirically measure the association of an internet search with diagnosis, triage, and anxiety by presenting 5,000 people in the United States with a series of symptoms and asked them to imagine that someone close to them was experiencing the symptoms. The participants – mostly white, average age 45, and an even gender split – were asked to provide a diagnosis based on the given information. Then they looked up their case symptoms (which, ranging from mild to severe, described common illnesses such as viruses, heart attacks and strokes) on the internet and again offered a diagnosis. As well as diagnosing the condition, participants were asked to select a triage level, ranging from “let the health issue get better on its own” to calling the emergency services. Participants also recorded their anxiety levels. The results showed a slight uptick in diagnosis accuracy, with an improvement of 49.8% to 54% before and after the search. However, there was no difference in triage accuracy or anxiety, the authors wrote in the journal JAMA Network Open. These findings suggest that medical experts and policymakers probably do not need to warn patients away from the internet when it comes to seeking health information and self-diagnosis or triage. It seems that using the internet may well help patients figure out what is wrong. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 29 March 2021
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News Article
Royal College of Midwives calls for a Digital Midwife in every maternity service
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) has launched a new positioning statement to call for a Digital Midwife in every maternity service in the next 12 months. The trade union, which represents the majority of practising midwives, has called for every trust to recruit or train Digital Midwives to lead on digital transformation programmes and ensure systems that are introduced are interoperable. The RCM has said it’s not just a call for investment but a need to ‘drive forward digital transformation and clinical informatics of maternity care’. Hermione Jackson, RCM Digital Advisor, said: “For too long maternity services have been overlooked, passed over and generally left at the back of the queue when it comes to digital investment. Investing in digital technology and giving staff the training and equipment they need will lead to better care, regardless of where that care is delivered. “There is clear evidence that more and better use of digital technology is supported by women, midwives, maternity support workers and other maternity staff. We need the Government and hospital Trusts and Boards to give maternity services the tech they need to do their jobs even better. Improvements have been happening but at a snail’s pace and we need to see this move much more rapidly simply to catch-up with other areas of the NHS.” The RCM said it will be publishing new guidance on electronic record keeping for midwives and maternity support workers later in March. Read full story Source: Health Tech Newspaper, 16 March 2021 -
News Article
Covid online symptom checker 'may delay treatment'
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The NHS Covid symptom checker has been criticised by a study which found it may not pick up some people who are seriously ill. By being told to stay at home rather than consult a doctor, they may not receive treatment quickly enough. NHS Digital says the 111 online service, used more than 3.9 million times in the past year, is not a diagnostic tool. The symptom checker has been constantly revised and updated, it adds. The NHS 111 online Covid symptom checker asks a series of set questions about symptoms in order to offer people advice on their condition and what to do next. The study, in BMJ Health and Care Informatics, used 50 simulated cases to compare online checkers used during the pandemic from four countries - UK, US, Japan and Singapore. It found the symptom checkers used by the UK and US were half as likely to advise people to consult a doctor as the systems used in Japan and Singapore. Japan and Singapore also had the lowest case fatality rates of the four nations. Despite improvements in the safety of the NHS 111 symptom checker since the research was carried out in April, the researchers said they still have "ongoing concerns". Read full story Source: BBC News, 9 March 2021 -
News ArticleA regulator has admitted “concerns” over the software Babylon Healthcare uses in one of its digital health solutions and is exploring how to address this. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority’s (MHRA) concerns relate to Babylon’s symptom checker “chatbot” tool. This is used by thousands of patients, including those registered with digital primary care practice GP at Hand. Two senior figures within the agency set out the MHRA’s concerns about the tool in a letter, seen by HSJ, which was sent to consultant oncologist David Watkins following a meeting between the parties last October. Dr Watkins has raised doubts over the tool’s safety for several years, including repeatedly documenting alleged flaws in the chatbot through videos posted online. However, last year, Babylon said only 20 of Dr Watkins’ 2,400 tests resulted in “genuine errors” being identified in the software. In the letter, dated 4 December, the MHRA’s clinical director for devices Duncan McPherson and head of software related device technologies Johan Ordish said Dr Watkins’ “concerns are all valid and ones that we share”. In the letter to Dr Watkins, the two MHRA directors also said the regulator is further exploring some of the issues highlighted and the work could “be important as we develop a new regulatory framework for medical devices in the UK”. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 4 March 2021
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News ArticleAmongst the 3.9 million confirmed COVID-19 cases in the UK to date, it is estimated that around one in five people experience symptoms that last for five weeks or longer, and one in ten have symptoms that last for twelve weeks or longer. Termed Long COVID, people report a myriad of symptoms including chronic fatigue, breathlessness, loss of sense of smell, depression and concentration difficulties. Already totalling an estimated 186,000 people, long COVID will bring mounting pressure on primary care services. Within its COVID-19 rapid guideline for managing the long-term effects of COVID-19, NICE recommends health apps as part of giving advice and information on self-management. ORCHA has assessed almost 6,500 health apps to date against more than 350 measures and all major standards. From this research, they identified the top-scoring apps across each of the long COVID symptoms to help primary care, community settings and multidisciplinary assessment and rehabilitation services make informed decisions on the best apps for their patients. Read report
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News Article
‘Rapid’ assessment launched to help NHS organisations pick new tech
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
NHSX has launched a ‘simpler and faster’ technology assessment process to help healthcare providers pick digital tools that meet NHS standards. The new digital technology assessment criteria provides NHS and social care teams with guidance to decide which tools to use or to recommend to patients. NHS organisations, national bodies and social care will be encouraged to apply the DTAC when considering any form of digital health technology procurement. NHSX described DTAC as “a new simpler and faster assessment process to help give staff, patients and the public confidence that the digital health tools they use meet NHS standards”, adding it “is a rapid process that can be completed in days”. It has previously taken as long as two months for tools to go through assessment processes. The guidance brings together legislation and best practice across five areas. Tools will receive a pass or fail score in the first four categories — clinical safety, data protection, technical security and interoperability — and an additional percentage score for usability and accessibility. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 23 February 2021 -
News ArticleA firm which reviews healthcare apps for several NHS trusts says 80% of them do not meet its standards. Failings include poor information, lack of security updates and insufficient awareness of regulatory requirements, said Orcha chief executive Liz Ashall-Payne. The firm's reviews help determine whether an app should be recommended to patients by NHS staff. There are about 370,000 health-related apps available online, Orcha said. App developers can categorise their apps themselves and the ones reviewed by the firm include those tagged health, fitness and medical. So far, the firm has reviewed nearly 5,000 apps and found many poor examples, including: A diabetes management app offering complex medical support without any back-up from experts. A physiotherapy app offering exercise plans without any visible input from professionals. An app to help smokers quit, which had not had security updates in more than two years. Read full story Source: BBC News, 16 February 2021
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News Article
Report reveals digital health technology must be accessible for all
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
To be successful digital health technology must be accessible to all while still maintaining the human aspects of healthcare, a new report has said. ‘Digital Health during the Covid-19 Pandemic: Learning Lessons to Maintain Momentum’ draws on research and case studies of good practice in digital health during the pandemic. The aim of the report is to offer policy recommendations to help ensure the UK capitalises on the potential of digital health to the benefit of patients, the NHS and the UK, after the crisis subsides. The report, launched by the Patient Coalition for AI, Data and Digital Tech in Health, with support from patient organisations and the Royal Colleges of Nursing and Radiologists, highlights that uptake of digital health technologies has been limited, while patient experience of technologies including video conferencing and mobile apps has been mixed. While patients strongly believe in the value of digital health, there are still significant concerns about using it, particularly around data collection and sharing. A number of key organisations gave their support to the report. This included the likes of the British Heart Foundation, Patient Safety Learning and the Royal College of Nursing. Read full story Source: Digital Health, 3 February 2021 -
News Article
Can digital technology help embed a strong patient safety culture?
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Within a few months of joining Great Ormond Street Hospital Foundation Trust as medical director, Mat Shaw became its chief executive. Heading up the organisation clearly brought with it new responsibilities and challenges, yet he says on one important issue there was little difference between the two roles – namely, the focus on patient safety and enabling clinicians to offer the best possible care for patients. “I lived through the time when all notes were on paper, when you had five, six volumes of thousands of pages. I lived through that time when it was very difficult to actually know what information to collect, and from where you should collect it, to make decisions around patients. And I recognise we don’t always do the right thing based on those systems. “So for me it’s been tremendously important to try and bring a system in, and the digital tools which are needed, to make care kinder and also safer, with better outcomes for patients. In our new strategy, digital is front and centre in a way that it’s never been before, because I consider this agenda so important to how we treat patients.” Read full story Source: HSJ (paywalled), 3 February 2021
