How Wearables will transform the EHR (Electronic Disease Record), slide deck for presentation by David Doherty (@mHealth) at Wearables Europe, London, 28 May 2015.
How Wearables will transform the EHR (Electronic Disease Record), slide deck for presentation by David Doherty (@mHealth) at Wearables Europe, London, 28 May 2015.
Telemedicine Lessons from Walmart & Texas Prisons - Dr. Glenn Hammack 9 feb2017VSee
Did your telehealth program not go as well as you expected? Find out how Texas prisons set up a system that's now doing 160,000 telemedicine visits a year. Prepare your organization to thrive in the changing healthcare world. Telehealth veteran and President at NuPhysicia, Dr. Glenn Hammack, shares insights from 17 years of deploying telemedicine for employers and prisons across the state of Texas.
For more information of the presentation such as recording and transcript, please visit:
https://goo.gl/psjbmP
For other webinars:
https://vsee.com/webinars/
Or join our Linkedin Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/Telehealth-Failures-Secrets-Success-13500037/about
Or Join our Facebook Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/tfssgroup/?ref=group_cover
The 2017 Texas Legislature adopted a new definition and a new approach to telemedicine and the remote delivery of health care. Two health care lawyers prepared this deck to help Texas physicians understand the new law, how it came about, and what it could mean for the practice of medicine in Texas.
"Telemedicine and Digital Health: New Texas Law, Opportunities, and Challenges" was presented at the Texas Medical Association 2017 Fall Conference, Sept. 16, 2017, as the Philip R. Overton Annual Lectureship in Medicine and the Law.
12 Gifts of Digital Health: How Futuristic Technologies Changed Healthcare an...Enspektos, LLC
When people talk about how digital technologies will influence health, many assume changes will happen years or decades into the future. Yet, in 2014 a range of digital tech, from Big Data to genomics, gave people the gift of life, knowledge and more. Look back at the year that was in digital health and understand that he future is now.
In this report we set out ten provocative statements predicting the world of 2020. Each prediction is articulated and brought to life through a series of portraits which imagine how patients, healthcare professionals and life sciences organizations might behave in this new world. Our predictions lean more towards an optimistic view of the future, although we organized that many in our industry are organized about the constraints and therefore pace of change. We describe the big trends rolled forward to 2020 and some of the constraints that will need to be overcome.
We also provide examples and evidence, based on the here and now, that show that the predictions are perfectly plausible, perhaps inspiring and surprising!
Our industry is changing quickly – requiring a bold response that is often difficult to implement – and yet organizations struggle to understand how to respond effectively and build a sense of urgency. We hope this report creates rich dialogue and enables a move to action.– we have had enormous fun discussing these predictions and sharing our experiences. We hope you have the same experience within your own organizations as you peruse this report and reflect on your current situation and future scenarios.
Digital Health Applications and Hospitals of the FutureDavid Wortley
The National Healthcare Expo 2019 Conference was held in late November in Milton Keynes. In my presentation in the eHealth Track (presentation and video links included in this article), I outlined 3 points to think about when looking at the future of Digital Technologies in Healthcare and Medicine.
The digital technologies which will have the biggest impact on global health will not have been designed by or for medical professionals
Consumer technologies, sometime referred to as “general” technologies are being applied across almost all sectors of business and society for purposes which were not originally envisaged or intended. The health sector is a good example in which all of the technologies shown below are now being applied for health and well-being :-
• Smartphones
• Fitness Trackers
• Whatsapp and WeChat
• Virtual Reality Headsets
• Panoramic Cameras
• Artificial Intelligence
• Sensors
With the possible exception of fitness trackers, none of these technologies were developed by or for medical professionals. There are some profound implications, not only for the future of healthcare but also for the roles and responsibilities of health professionals and citizens. The graph below shows how digital technologies for health are shifting from expensive, stand-alone, proprietary technologies to smart, connected, consumer technologies.
A look at SxSW Health 2015 through the eyes of the online health ecosystemW2O Group
Presentation shared as a part of the Mayo Clinic Social Media Health Network's monthly webinar for April, 2015. A look at the trends and topics that captured the hearts and minds of the global online health ecosystem.
The explosion in the number of applications (apps) designed for the medical and wellness sectors has been noted by many. Recently we have seen increased presence of truly medical apps, in addition to consumer health and wellbeing apps, designed for clinical professionals and patients with medical conditions.
Consumer based mHealth apps typically allow people to do old things in new ways, such as recording health measures digitally rather than on paper. We see this also with medical apps, where increases in the quality and efficiency of existing health care models provide clinical staff with digital tools that replace paper based documentation. In rare and exciting cases we are also seeing mHealth applications that are doing things in entirely new ways to drive real innovation in health care delivery through mobile devices.
The aim of the tutorial is to highlight real world, high impact mobile research that is relevant to the key discipline of Mobile HCI. Thus, the tutorial will be application rather than academically focused. The tutorial will highlight the wide range of mHealth applications available that go far beyond trackers and behavior change tools and encourage researchers to look beyond consumer applications in their research. Four key areas of mHealth applications will be covered including Apps for the HealthyWell, mHealth in Hospitals, Practice and Clinical Apps and Patient Apps and will cover applications for health assessment, treatment and triage, behavior change, chronic illness, mental health, adolescent health, rehabilitation and age care with a focus on the need for rigorous evaluation and efficacy analysis.
Telemedicine Lessons from Walmart & Texas Prisons - Dr. Glenn Hammack 9 feb2017VSee
Did your telehealth program not go as well as you expected? Find out how Texas prisons set up a system that's now doing 160,000 telemedicine visits a year. Prepare your organization to thrive in the changing healthcare world. Telehealth veteran and President at NuPhysicia, Dr. Glenn Hammack, shares insights from 17 years of deploying telemedicine for employers and prisons across the state of Texas.
For more information of the presentation such as recording and transcript, please visit:
https://goo.gl/psjbmP
For other webinars:
https://vsee.com/webinars/
Or join our Linkedin Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/Telehealth-Failures-Secrets-Success-13500037/about
Or Join our Facebook Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/tfssgroup/?ref=group_cover
The 2017 Texas Legislature adopted a new definition and a new approach to telemedicine and the remote delivery of health care. Two health care lawyers prepared this deck to help Texas physicians understand the new law, how it came about, and what it could mean for the practice of medicine in Texas.
"Telemedicine and Digital Health: New Texas Law, Opportunities, and Challenges" was presented at the Texas Medical Association 2017 Fall Conference, Sept. 16, 2017, as the Philip R. Overton Annual Lectureship in Medicine and the Law.
12 Gifts of Digital Health: How Futuristic Technologies Changed Healthcare an...Enspektos, LLC
When people talk about how digital technologies will influence health, many assume changes will happen years or decades into the future. Yet, in 2014 a range of digital tech, from Big Data to genomics, gave people the gift of life, knowledge and more. Look back at the year that was in digital health and understand that he future is now.
In this report we set out ten provocative statements predicting the world of 2020. Each prediction is articulated and brought to life through a series of portraits which imagine how patients, healthcare professionals and life sciences organizations might behave in this new world. Our predictions lean more towards an optimistic view of the future, although we organized that many in our industry are organized about the constraints and therefore pace of change. We describe the big trends rolled forward to 2020 and some of the constraints that will need to be overcome.
We also provide examples and evidence, based on the here and now, that show that the predictions are perfectly plausible, perhaps inspiring and surprising!
Our industry is changing quickly – requiring a bold response that is often difficult to implement – and yet organizations struggle to understand how to respond effectively and build a sense of urgency. We hope this report creates rich dialogue and enables a move to action.– we have had enormous fun discussing these predictions and sharing our experiences. We hope you have the same experience within your own organizations as you peruse this report and reflect on your current situation and future scenarios.
Digital Health Applications and Hospitals of the FutureDavid Wortley
The National Healthcare Expo 2019 Conference was held in late November in Milton Keynes. In my presentation in the eHealth Track (presentation and video links included in this article), I outlined 3 points to think about when looking at the future of Digital Technologies in Healthcare and Medicine.
The digital technologies which will have the biggest impact on global health will not have been designed by or for medical professionals
Consumer technologies, sometime referred to as “general” technologies are being applied across almost all sectors of business and society for purposes which were not originally envisaged or intended. The health sector is a good example in which all of the technologies shown below are now being applied for health and well-being :-
• Smartphones
• Fitness Trackers
• Whatsapp and WeChat
• Virtual Reality Headsets
• Panoramic Cameras
• Artificial Intelligence
• Sensors
With the possible exception of fitness trackers, none of these technologies were developed by or for medical professionals. There are some profound implications, not only for the future of healthcare but also for the roles and responsibilities of health professionals and citizens. The graph below shows how digital technologies for health are shifting from expensive, stand-alone, proprietary technologies to smart, connected, consumer technologies.
A look at SxSW Health 2015 through the eyes of the online health ecosystemW2O Group
Presentation shared as a part of the Mayo Clinic Social Media Health Network's monthly webinar for April, 2015. A look at the trends and topics that captured the hearts and minds of the global online health ecosystem.
The explosion in the number of applications (apps) designed for the medical and wellness sectors has been noted by many. Recently we have seen increased presence of truly medical apps, in addition to consumer health and wellbeing apps, designed for clinical professionals and patients with medical conditions.
Consumer based mHealth apps typically allow people to do old things in new ways, such as recording health measures digitally rather than on paper. We see this also with medical apps, where increases in the quality and efficiency of existing health care models provide clinical staff with digital tools that replace paper based documentation. In rare and exciting cases we are also seeing mHealth applications that are doing things in entirely new ways to drive real innovation in health care delivery through mobile devices.
The aim of the tutorial is to highlight real world, high impact mobile research that is relevant to the key discipline of Mobile HCI. Thus, the tutorial will be application rather than academically focused. The tutorial will highlight the wide range of mHealth applications available that go far beyond trackers and behavior change tools and encourage researchers to look beyond consumer applications in their research. Four key areas of mHealth applications will be covered including Apps for the HealthyWell, mHealth in Hospitals, Practice and Clinical Apps and Patient Apps and will cover applications for health assessment, treatment and triage, behavior change, chronic illness, mental health, adolescent health, rehabilitation and age care with a focus on the need for rigorous evaluation and efficacy analysis.
A Study on Retailer’s Perception on Soya Products with Special Reference to T...iosrjce
IOSR Journal of Business and Management (IOSR-JBM) is a double blind peer reviewed International Journal that provides rapid publication (within a month) of articles in all areas of business and managemant and its applications. The journal welcomes publications of high quality papers on theoretical developments and practical applications inbusiness and management. Original research papers, state-of-the-art reviews, and high quality technical notes are invited for publications.
Digital Therapeutics / Digital Health Innovation Rawane Jabara
Ampersand & Ampersand is a digital health and therapeutics agency based in London. We specialise in co-developing clinically relevant software that puts patients at the heart of their health management. "Digital therapeutics represent a new generation of healthcare that uses innovative, clinically-validated disease management and direct treatment applications to enhance, and in some cases replace, current medical practices and treatments." - Digital Therapeutics Alliance. Check out our work here and get in touch. 3amp.com rawane@3amp.com
Future of Healthcare Provision Jan 2017Future Agenda
Building on insights from our 2015 future of health discussions, this is a new initial view on how healthcare provision may change, especially given emerging opportunities for improved patient engagement. As well as insights from discussions in India, UK, Canada, Singapore and the US it also includes other additional perspectives shared in interviews and workshops over the past 12 months.
We recognise that given the multi-factored nature of this topic and the rapid emergence of new options, what we have summarised in this document is itself in flux. As such, over the next few months we will be sharing this more widely for additional feedback ahead of publication of an updated paper over the summer. So, if you have any comments on changes and additions or issues that you think need more detail, please let us know and we will include.
As with all Future Agenda output, this is being published under creative commons (share alike non commercial) so you are free to share and quote as suits.
Digital health innovation - future nhs stage, 1pm, 2 september 2015NHS England
Expo is the most significant annual health and social care event in the calendar, uniting more NHS and care leaders, commissioners, clinicians, voluntary sector partners, innovators and media than any other health and care event.
Expo 15 returned to Manchester and was hosted once again by NHS England. Around 5000 people a day from health and care, the voluntary sector, local government, and industry joined together at Manchester Central Convention Centre for two packed days of speakers, workshops, exhibitions and professional development.
This year, Expo was more relevant and engaging than ever before, happening within the first 100 days of the new Government, and almost 12 months after the publication of the NHS Five Year Forward View. It was also a great opportunity to check on and learn from the progress of Greater Manchester as the area prepares to take over a £6 billion devolved health and social care budget, pledging to integrate hospital, community, primary and social care and vastly improve health and well-being.
More information is available online: www.expo.nhs.uk
7 Reasons Your Company Should Use A Digital Healthcare Solution.pptxMocDoc
Digital Healthcare Solution is one of the latest growing technology used by Healthcare Industries. So Here are the reasons why your company should use a Digital Healthcare
Digital Transformation In Healthcare_ Trends, Challenges And Solutions.pdfLucas Lagone
Explore digital transformation in Healthcare, Trends, face challenges, and discover effective solutions for a seamless transition in the healthcare industry.
Running head COURSE PROJECT- ROUGH DRAFT .docxsusanschei
Running head: COURSE PROJECT- ROUGH DRAFT 1
Course Project- Rough Draft
Weltee Wolo
Rasmussen College
Author Note
This paper is being submitted on November 24, 2016, for Mischelle Pittman Henry’s
H400/HSA4191 Healthcare Information System course
COURSE PROJECT- ROUGH DRAFT
2
Technology has become very useful in many sectors. In the health care industry, it has
changed the way health care services are provided. It turns out to be a critical tool for
competition in the health care market. Quality has now been at the forefront when it comes to
shaping any health care program (Feenberg, 2012). This makes health care institutions to strive
and produces better services to its customers.
A look at surgical procedures together with state of the art proper care method, an
important position from the infirmary is represented by the technology. Compared to the past,
health care institutions have now been successful when it comes to performing a number of
lifetime harmful and critical surgical procedures (Mali, 2012). All these are attributed to
advanced models to be used in surgeries brought about by technology. There is much equipment
that has been brought about by technology advancement including 3D echocardiogram and CT
reconstruction. These two have made surgery more efficient by improving imaging capabilities
which enable surgeons to operate without hindrances on the human body (Raza, Sabik, Masabni,
Ainkaran, Lytle, W. B., & Blackstone, 2014). Healthcare services have improved too, by the
introduction of robotic surgery and teleconferencing. The latter has enabled doctors to provide
knowledge and expertise far and wide irrespective of their physical location. They can monitor,
track and communicate with their patients to help them keeping tabs on their ailments (Raza, et
al., 2014). Robotic surgery helps doctors conduct surgery remotely with the use of a machine that
can multitask and overcome some of the limitations a human doctor may have. This improves the
likelihood of an operation to be successful which benefits both the physician and the patient.
Additionally, there are Pc Served Medical procedures together with CAS, which have
been termed as computer or laptop well guided medical procedures. Most surgeons, especially
cosmetic surgeons rely on these procedures in some surgery activities on various subjects, such
COURSE PROJECT- ROUGH DRAFT
3
as orthopedic and otolaryngologic operations (Hendricks-Munoz, 2015). In clinical laboratories,
well-trained individuals are making use ...
Patient-Generated Data for Cancer Treatment and ManagementTommy Snitz
Research poster created by myself and Matthew Villarreal while we were students of The University of Texas at Austin's Health Informatics and Health IT Program.
Looks into the benefits and challenges of using patient-generated data in cancer treatment and management
Healthcare as an industry is transforming. The concept of wellbeing is increasing in importance. Living environments are evolving, including smart homes, assisted living and robotics. Technologies and innovations are having major impacts to individual’s life. Individuals are taking more control and recognizing also their responsibility.
Business Finland and Future Watch commissioned a study on the landscape of developments that will impact the delivery of Health & Wellbeing, to better understand the anticipated transformations, impacts and opportunities to support its strategy for ensuring Finland is well positioned to take advantage of such trends and to help drive better decision making for all stakeholders in Finland. Results of the study are published and discussed with stakeholders and companies in Business Finland’s Smart Life Finland program webinars.
Connected health, also known as technology-enabled care (TEC), involves the convergence of health technology, digital media, and mobile devices. It enables patients, carers, and healthcare professionals (HCPs) to access data and information more easily and improve the quality and outcomes of both health and social care.
"Off-the-shelf technology can be put to better use with bespoke integrated software as hospitals rethink efficient patient care"
--Published in The Times and on Raconteur
Facing up to the diabetes challenge; Managing and preventing Type 2 diabetes ...Lorena Tonarelli M.Sc.
Facing up to the diabetes challenge: Interview-based feature about the challenges of living with Type 1 diabetes; published in The Independent newspaper.
Managing and preventing Type 2 diabetes with diet and activity: Feature article; published in The Independent newspaper.
News article about vagal nerve stimulation as an adjunctive treatment for the management of seizures that don't respond to medication; published in The Guardian newspaper.
Feature article about the challenges of living with autism, as experienced by the parent of a child with the condition. Published in The Independent newspaper.
Pleasant, meaningful activities help the person with Alzheimer's disease maintain their remaining cognitive and functional abilities longer. This book contains over 300 activities ideas developed and tested by research groups worldwide specifically for those with the disease. It also explains what Alzheimer's disease is, and how it affects memory, cognition and behavior. A description of effective strategies for interacting with the person with Alzheimer's in the various stages of the illness, safety tips, and techniques for the prevention and management of agitation are also included - Freiberg Press Inc., USA - available from www.store4caregivers.com
The Art of the Pitch: WordPress Relationships and SalesLaura Byrne
Clients don’t know what they don’t know. What web solutions are right for them? How does WordPress come into the picture? How do you make sure you understand scope and timeline? What do you do if sometime changes?
All these questions and more will be explored as we talk about matching clients’ needs with what your agency offers without pulling teeth or pulling your hair out. Practical tips, and strategies for successful relationship building that leads to closing the deal.
Accelerate your Kubernetes clusters with Varnish CachingThijs Feryn
A presentation about the usage and availability of Varnish on Kubernetes. This talk explores the capabilities of Varnish caching and shows how to use the Varnish Helm chart to deploy it to Kubernetes.
This presentation was delivered at K8SUG Singapore. See https://feryn.eu/presentations/accelerate-your-kubernetes-clusters-with-varnish-caching-k8sug-singapore-28-2024 for more details.
GraphRAG is All You need? LLM & Knowledge GraphGuy Korland
Guy Korland, CEO and Co-founder of FalkorDB, will review two articles on the integration of language models with knowledge graphs.
1. Unifying Large Language Models and Knowledge Graphs: A Roadmap.
https://arxiv.org/abs/2306.08302
2. Microsoft Research's GraphRAG paper and a review paper on various uses of knowledge graphs:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/blog/graphrag-unlocking-llm-discovery-on-narrative-private-data/
Key Trends Shaping the Future of Infrastructure.pdfCheryl Hung
Keynote at DIGIT West Expo, Glasgow on 29 May 2024.
Cheryl Hung, ochery.com
Sr Director, Infrastructure Ecosystem, Arm.
The key trends across hardware, cloud and open-source; exploring how these areas are likely to mature and develop over the short and long-term, and then considering how organisations can position themselves to adapt and thrive.
Generating a custom Ruby SDK for your web service or Rails API using Smithyg2nightmarescribd
Have you ever wanted a Ruby client API to communicate with your web service? Smithy is a protocol-agnostic language for defining services and SDKs. Smithy Ruby is an implementation of Smithy that generates a Ruby SDK using a Smithy model. In this talk, we will explore Smithy and Smithy Ruby to learn how to generate custom feature-rich SDKs that can communicate with any web service, such as a Rails JSON API.
UiPath Test Automation using UiPath Test Suite series, part 3DianaGray10
Welcome to UiPath Test Automation using UiPath Test Suite series part 3. In this session, we will cover desktop automation along with UI automation.
Topics covered:
UI automation Introduction,
UI automation Sample
Desktop automation flow
Pradeep Chinnala, Senior Consultant Automation Developer @WonderBotz and UiPath MVP
Deepak Rai, Automation Practice Lead, Boundaryless Group and UiPath MVP
Epistemic Interaction - tuning interfaces to provide information for AI supportAlan Dix
Paper presented at SYNERGY workshop at AVI 2024, Genoa, Italy. 3rd June 2024
https://alandix.com/academic/papers/synergy2024-epistemic/
As machine learning integrates deeper into human-computer interactions, the concept of epistemic interaction emerges, aiming to refine these interactions to enhance system adaptability. This approach encourages minor, intentional adjustments in user behaviour to enrich the data available for system learning. This paper introduces epistemic interaction within the context of human-system communication, illustrating how deliberate interaction design can improve system understanding and adaptation. Through concrete examples, we demonstrate the potential of epistemic interaction to significantly advance human-computer interaction by leveraging intuitive human communication strategies to inform system design and functionality, offering a novel pathway for enriching user-system engagements.
LF Energy Webinar: Electrical Grid Modelling and Simulation Through PowSyBl -...DanBrown980551
Do you want to learn how to model and simulate an electrical network from scratch in under an hour?
Then welcome to this PowSyBl workshop, hosted by Rte, the French Transmission System Operator (TSO)!
During the webinar, you will discover the PowSyBl ecosystem as well as handle and study an electrical network through an interactive Python notebook.
PowSyBl is an open source project hosted by LF Energy, which offers a comprehensive set of features for electrical grid modelling and simulation. Among other advanced features, PowSyBl provides:
- A fully editable and extendable library for grid component modelling;
- Visualization tools to display your network;
- Grid simulation tools, such as power flows, security analyses (with or without remedial actions) and sensitivity analyses;
The framework is mostly written in Java, with a Python binding so that Python developers can access PowSyBl functionalities as well.
What you will learn during the webinar:
- For beginners: discover PowSyBl's functionalities through a quick general presentation and the notebook, without needing any expert coding skills;
- For advanced developers: master the skills to efficiently apply PowSyBl functionalities to your real-world scenarios.
Builder.ai Founder Sachin Dev Duggal's Strategic Approach to Create an Innova...Ramesh Iyer
In today's fast-changing business world, Companies that adapt and embrace new ideas often need help to keep up with the competition. However, fostering a culture of innovation takes much work. It takes vision, leadership and willingness to take risks in the right proportion. Sachin Dev Duggal, co-founder of Builder.ai, has perfected the art of this balance, creating a company culture where creativity and growth are nurtured at each stage.
Encryption in Microsoft 365 - ExpertsLive Netherlands 2024Albert Hoitingh
In this session I delve into the encryption technology used in Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Purview. Including the concepts of Customer Key and Double Key Encryption.
Transcript: Selling digital books in 2024: Insights from industry leaders - T...BookNet Canada
The publishing industry has been selling digital audiobooks and ebooks for over a decade and has found its groove. What’s changed? What has stayed the same? Where do we go from here? Join a group of leading sales peers from across the industry for a conversation about the lessons learned since the popularization of digital books, best practices, digital book supply chain management, and more.
Link to video recording: https://bnctechforum.ca/sessions/selling-digital-books-in-2024-insights-from-industry-leaders/
Presented by BookNet Canada on May 28, 2024, with support from the Department of Canadian Heritage.
Neuro-symbolic is not enough, we need neuro-*semantic*Frank van Harmelen
Neuro-symbolic (NeSy) AI is on the rise. However, simply machine learning on just any symbolic structure is not sufficient to really harvest the gains of NeSy. These will only be gained when the symbolic structures have an actual semantics. I give an operational definition of semantics as “predictable inference”.
All of this illustrated with link prediction over knowledge graphs, but the argument is general.
Neuro-symbolic is not enough, we need neuro-*semantic*
Smartphone apps are key to dialling up innovation
1. CONNECTED HEALTHCARE
LORENA TONARELLI
Smartphone
apps are key
to dialling up
innovation
Patients are set to become active players in a
technology revolution which could improve their
health and revive the NHS
I
ncreasing patient expectations,
chronic disease prevalence and
budget constraints are placing un-
precedented pressure on the NHS.
This is paving the way for technology
to transform radically care pathways in
the UK. Giving people greater control
over their health and wellbeing through
digital innovations is a crucial part of
this process.
At the Nuffield Trust Health Policy
Summit, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt
said: “Patients are ready to take on the
challenge. We need to give them the
chance to sit in the driving seat.” He
added that, although technology is
key, it is also important “to change the
cultural relationship between doctors
and patients, from master and servant,
to partners”.
A review of the research conducted
globally on the digital self-management
of asthma concluded that this can im-
prove self-care, life quality and medica-
tion use. In a US budget impact model for
diabetes, self-management technology
delayed complications and generated
health. In particular, mobile phones are
helping people lead healthier lifestyles
with immediate and relevant personal
support through new apps and websites.
They have the potential to be the single
most important channel through which
we can help improve the nation’s health,
address health inequalities and alleviate
pressure on the NHS.
“Public Health England already has
a range of apps available for free from
the NHS Choices website, many being
among the most downloaded apps in
the country. We are keen to develop this
whole area and, through our Health X in-
itiative, we are working with leading tech
startups to bring the most innovative dig-
ital thinking to health improvement.”
The Health X initiative, which was
launched last year, has already produced
groundbreaking ideas for products that will
help consumers conduct healthier lives.
“Whether helping people follow a
simple programme to get them off
the couch and in a few weeks running
5km, knowing how many calories are
in foods or aiding smokers to quit for
good within 28 days, we are looking
for mobile phones to play a significant
role in improving the health of the
savings to the health system. Remote
monitoring of blood glucose, alone,
saved $326 million over ten years.
Telemedicine, wearable technology
and online resources are all crucial in
creating efficient services, potentially
saving the NHS money that could be
spent elsewhere. But mobile phones are
considered the key driver.
“Mobile-phone subscriptions exceed
the world’s population of over seven bil-
lion. It is no surprise that this is helping
shape some of the innovations we are
seeing in healthcare,” says Dr Mutaz Ald-
awoud, a GP in Bradford, West Yorkshire,
and digital clinical champion at NHS
England. We are beginning to realise the
benefits of using mobile phones and apps
for medication reminders and communi-
cation of vital-sign readings, which helps
reduce unnecessary visits to the GP.
There are some 40,000 health-related
apps available today. Flurry Analytics
reports that, between December 2013
and June 2014, daily use of health apps
increased by 62 per cent, compared
with a 33 per cent rise for mobile apps
in general.
The NHS Choices Health Apps Library
has many clinically safe products for
managing health on the go. They include
apps for booking GP appointments and
understanding laboratory tests, and
cover conditions such as autism, diabe-
tes, stroke and cancer.
Professor Kevin Fenton, national di-
rector of health and wellbeing at Public
Health England, says: “We recognise
that digital technology is revolution-
ising the way people get personalised
information and interact with their
nation over the coming years,” says
Professor Fenton.
Marple Cottage Surgery, Stockport,
Cheshire, has been using interactive
self-management plans for asthma
and diabetes for years. “Together with
advice from our nurses, they help pa-
tients control the condition without
having to come to the practice,” says
GP Dr Andrew Johnson. “We are now
about to embark on new areas, includ-
ing live video appointments.”
Dr Arvind Madan is a GP and chief
executive at the Hurley Group, a net-
work of NHS practices in London. With
colleagues, he created webGP software
enabling patients to self-care, check
symptoms and consult with their
doctor online. “Patients can educate
themselves, take control over their
health and choose the most appropriate
service,” he says.
They can expect improved outcomes,
thanks to comprehensive history-tak-
ing and early-symptom detection and
treatment initiation. Practices use
their resources more efficiently, and
commissioners save money as a result
of reduced complications from de-
layed treatment and attendance at ur-
gent-care centres.
In a pilot funded by the NHS Tower
Hamlets Clinical Commissioning
Group, webGP had 36,000 visits in six
months. Some 60 per cent of the pa-
tients who visited were managed re-
motely and 18 per cent did not need the
doctor. This saved 400 GP hours.
Dr Stuart Bingham, lead GP at the Bar-
kantine Practice in London, highlights
the importance of online self-help in-
formation and consultations. He says:
“Technology needs to advance along-
side services, to enable primary care to
develop and meet demand. However, IT
governance and patient confidentiality
issues could delay the process.”
Crucially, practitioners must be will-
ing to engage with technology and ad-
vocate its use among patients. Bradford
GP Dr Aldawoud concludes: “We need to
get the technology to those who need it
most, embed it into care pathways, and
convince healthcare professionals and
decision-makers that, if such innovations
are allowed to flourish in a supportive en-
vironment, care can be delivered closer
to home, saving time, avoiding waste and
ultimately improving health outcomes.”
Telemedicine,
wearable technology
and online resources
are all crucial in
creating efficient
services, potentially
saving the NHS
money that could be
spent elsewhere
APPLICATIONS
rise in daily use of health apps,
December 2013 to June 2014
62%
Source: Flurry Analytics
GLOBAL MOBILE HEALTH MARKET FORECAST
Percentage share of overall market, 2017 estimate
US/Canada
Latin
America
Africa
Asia-
PacificEurope
$23bn
28%
7%
5%
30%
30%
Source: PwC
06 | FUTURE OF HEALTHCARE 23 / 03 / 2015 | RACONTEURraconteur.net