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Showing results for tags 'Health and Care Apps'.
Found 92 results
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News Article
Wearable fitness trackers could interfere with cardiac devices, study finds
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Wearable fitness and wellness trackers could interfere with some implanted cardiac devices such as pacemakers, according to a study. Devices such as smartwatches, smart rings and smart scales used to monitor fitness-related activities could interfere with the functioning of cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) such as pacemakers, implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs), and cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT) devices, the study published in the Heart Rhythm journal found. Researchers found that the electrical current used in wearable smart gadgets during “bioimpedance sensing” interfered with proper functioning of some implanted cardiac devices from three leading manufacturers. Lead researcher, Dr Benjamin Sanchez Terrones, of the University of Utah. said the results did not convey any immediate or clear risks to patients who wear the trackers. However, the different levels of electrical current emitted by the wearable devices could result in pacing interruptions or unnecessary shocks to the heart. Further research was needed to determine the actual level of risk". “Our research is the first to study devices that employ bioimpedance-sensing technology as well as discover potential interference problems with CIEDs such as CRT devices. We need to test across a broader cohort of devices and in patients with these devices. Collaborative investigation between researchers and industry would be helpful for keeping patients safe,” Sanchez said. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 22 February 2023 -
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Digital mental health tools to be regulated
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Recent years has seen a large, and rapid, growth in the availability of digital mental health tools. Do an online search for 'NHS Mental Health Apps' and an abundance of options will appear. These online tools can be helpful for people experiencing mental health problems, however, the Medicines Health and Regulatory products Agency (MHRA) said, they "present regulatory challenges" - such as clarity around whether they are medical devices and, if so, which risk classification they fall under. "Digital mental health tools offer millions of people vital support and guidance to explore and help manage their mental health issues every day," said Johan Ordish, head of software and artificial intelligence (AI) at the MHRA. He pointed out, however, that there are a number of "regulatory complexities" in establishing when these products should be regulated and what evidence they must have to demonstrate safety and effectiveness. Minister for Mental Health, Dr Caroline Johnson, said: "Digital mental health tools can be incredibly useful to help build resilience and prevent problems worsening, but it’s crucial these are regulated properly." To address these vital issues MHRA and NICE will explore and produce guidance on regulating digital mental health tools, using £1.8m funding by Wellcome over 3 years. The project will review key aspects of medical device regulations to produce guidance that will support digital mental health in several significant areas – including: Determining what qualifies as a medical device. The risk classification the devices would fall under. A review of the current evidence base for the devices. The MHRA explained that to achieve this it will "engage with" and "learn from" those with lived experience, subject experts, and patients, to inform their conclusions. Read full story Source: Medscape UK, 11 October 2022 -
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App will let patients avoid long NHS waits
Patient-Safety-Learning posted a news article in News
Patients will be able to use the NHS app to shop around for hospitals with the shortest waiting lists in a renewed drive to cut backlogs for routine care. Health bosses agreed yesterday to give patients more choice over where they are treated by next April in an effort to use digital league tables to direct people towards hospitals with the shortest waits. Steve Barclay, the health secretary, wants to give patients “real-time data” on their phones to decide whether to travel further to get quicker treatment for hip replacements, cataract removals and other non-urgent procedures. A government source said: “We don’t need a big bureaucracy to funnel patients towards the hospital which NHS managers decide is best, when, armed with a right to choose and the right information on the app, patients will go where waiting times are lowest.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Times (31 August 2022) -
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Let patients choose hospital with shortest wait, says former health secretary
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
All patients should be able to choose the hospital with the shortest waiting times, a former health secretary has said. Alan Milburn, the Labour health secretary under Tony Blair from 1999 to 2003, called for urgent reforms and warned that the NHS was “close to breaking point” and “in the worst state I have ever seen”. A record 6.7 million people are now on waiting lists, with the numbers waiting in Accident and Emergency departments for at least 12 hours surging by more than a third in a month. Writing for The Telegraph, Mr Milburn called for urgent reforms to give patients more choice and control while preventing a “tsunami” of chronic diseases fuelled by unhealthy lifestyles. In recent months, ministers have promised that those facing the longest waits will be offered treatment further away and offered travel and accommodation costs, but only around 140 patients were booked in for such surgery by June. Mr Milburn called for the option to be offered to all patients, urging health officials to use the NHS app as a way for people to chose the hospital with the shortest wait. So far, officials have promised to ensure that the app allows patients to check the average waiting time at their local hospital for their condition and compare it with others. Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Telegraph, 17 August 2022 -
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Research shows that poor handover in hospitals puts patients at risk of severe harm
Anonymous posted an article in Handover
Handover in hospitals is the cause of frequent and severe harm to patients, according to new research* by digital health platform, CAREFUL. Many patients are suffering because handover is poorly controlled and under-recognised as a source of clinical risk. Handover is the transfer of responsibility and crucial patient information between practitioners and teams. Handover takes place when shifts change and when patients are transferred between departments or outside of the hospital into another care setting. This is a time when staff are under pressure and when mistakes can happen – as the research shows. “We undertook this research because little is known about how practitioners see the risks of handover and the impact of handover on patient safety,” says CAREFUL CEO, Dr DJ Hamblin-Brown. “We anticipated that doctors and nurses would report some errors, but the frequency with which harm is reported across the world is disturbing.” Patient safety in operating theatres has been a recognised problem for many years – ever since the publication of the original checklist article in the New England Journal of Medicine. By contrast, handover, despite being possibly the most common clinical process across healthcare, has not been studied so widely. CAREFUL’s research investigated clinicians’ experience of handover, receiving 432 completed responses from clinicians in 26 countries via an open, anonymous and confidential online questionnaire. Published in February 2022, the findings revealed that errors in handover occur weekly or daily, according to 12% of respondents. Nearly 10% had witnessed severe harm – either death or otherwise life changing – because of handover error. “Handover takes place about 4,000 times each day in a typical teaching hospital”, explains Dr Hamblin-Brown. “It is a procedure prone to a multitude of errors due to reliance on paper that’s easily lost or verbal discussion that’s easily forgotten.” One of the most worrying findings in the research is that most handover takes place using a many different support systems; 35% are still using handwritten notes; 21% are using office documents such as Word and Excel; 10% write on whiteboards and a full 15% are using unofficial messaging apps like WhatsApp. Healthcare leaders reflect the same concerns as staff, but they specifically also want more access to patient information and better electronic systems. Digital platforms may be the only real solution to the challenges surrounding handover, with the ability to provide safe and secure access to handover information at the swipe of a screen that is neither lost nor forgotten. “We work in an industry that is failing to take seriously the dangers of handover. It is arguably the most common, and one of the most important, processes. We harm both staff and patients if we fail to address the dangers of handover,” concludes Dr Hamblin-Brown. *This paper is in pre-print and has not yet been peer-reviewed. -
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NHS Wales: App helping keep heart patients out of hospital
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Mobile apps to track patients' health are keeping them out of hospital and could cut waiting times, experts have said. It follows a trial of a new app which heart patients are using through their mobile phones. The trial allows clinicians to change treatments quickly and uses video consultations, avoiding unnecessary hospital visits. Rhodri Griffiths is the innovation adoption director at Life Sciences Hub Wales, and is looking for more ways to introduce similar technology. He believes the pandemic accelerated the use and acceptance of digital solutions in healthcare, by patients and clinicians. "We really are looking at a big digital revolution within healthcare and there are an amazing myriad of things coming through," he said. He explained data collected by smartphones and watches can help predict who is likely to have a heart attack. "We can avoid that happening. So prevention is key but it's also looking at how some of this can impact on waiting lists," he said. "So, looking at how theatres are used, which patients can be prioritised? "In social care it's looking at how pain is managed by face recognition." Mr Griffiths said he believed the data collected could also identify wider problems: "It's combining these digital solutions with our genetic information - bringing big data together on a population level we can start spotting trends". Read full story Source: BBC News, 4 August 2022 -
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Use of patient records and data
Patient Safety Learning posted a calendar event in Community Calendar
This conference from the Westminster forum will examine the next steps for the use of patient records and data within the NHS and clinical research. The agenda also looks at the opportunities for improved patient engagement in their care, including through the NHS app which enables easily to access their own records. Speakers and other delegates will share experience, latest thinking on best practice, and views on the way forward for addressing key issues. Areas for discussion include: patient data use in healthcare delivery - the current landscape, and priorities for the future electronic health records - including their role in supporting integrated care systems clinical research - the next steps for utilising patient data, and developing best practice digital health - patient data collection, use and quality, and innovation priorities population health - achieving the potential of data collection to improve outcomes security - including transparency on patient data use public trust - digital health literacy and patient control of their own care plans the NHS app - its role in the future of patient-centred healthcare. Register -
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ORCHA: Health apps for cancer services
Patient Safety Learning posted a calendar event in Community Calendar
untilIn this webinar, Dr Sam Shah, Chief Clinical Digital Advisor, ORCHA, will be joined by Ellie Bryant, Senior Innovation Consultant, Macmillan Cancer Support; Amanda Begley, co-founder and National Director for the NHS Innovation Accelerator (NIA) and Director of Innovation and Implementation, UCL Partners and Dr Tom Micklewrigh. The webinar will discuss: The findings from ORCHA's latest report: Digital Health for Cancer Services. The Macmillan Cancer Support Curated Content project working with ORCHA. The opportunity for innovation in the cancer pathway. Examples of high-scoring apps that can help cancer patients. Suggestions for ways that services can embed five of these apps. Register -
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Health apps for Long COVID self-management
Patient Safety Learning posted a calendar event in Community Calendar
untilIn this webinar, Dr Sam Shah, Chief Clinical Digital Advisor of ORCHA, will be joined by Dr Tom Micklewright to discuss ORCHA's new Health Apps for Long COVID Self-Management report in depth. Helen Hughes, Chief Executive of Patient Safety Learning and member of the NHS England Long COVID taskforce, will join them to discuss what services are being planned and put in place for people with long COVID, what the gaps are in delivering this plan and what patients are looking for. The webinar will: Discuss the findings of ORCHA's Health Apps for Long COVID Self-Management report. Share high scoring apps to help patients self-manage symptoms including fatigue, palpitations, joint pain, depression and insomnia. Examine the services being planned and put in place for long COVID. Conduct a deep-dive into how services can embed five of these apps. Ask the speakers your questions. Register -
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RCPCH: Young Epilepsy app
Claire Cox posted an article in Apps for health and care
This has not been implemented in a clinical setting. However, parents/ carers have been involved in the initial testing and ongoing development. Feedback is provided either via the helpline, an online survey signposted within the app or the email address webquery@youngepilepsy.org.uk. -
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Content ArticleThe team talk about an app that is now used across all wards in the Trust to measure the physical and therapeutic observation of service users. They explain how this app is helping identify deteriorating patients much earlier on, as well as freeing up more time for direct patient care and providing more accurate results. Viewers will also learn how they can adopt what the team have done within their own organisation through the blueprint that has been created of this project. The GDE blueprints can be found on the FutureNHS platform. To register, email: gdeblueprints@nhsx.nhs.uk
