NHS

NHS Hammersmith and Fulham Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) has published this week the independent evaluation of the Babylon GP at Hand service, undertaken by Ipsos Mori and the York Health Economics Consortium to understand the impact of the digital-first model on patients and staff, as well as the wider system. It follows the release of the Care Quality Commission’s report that saw GP at Hand be rated as “good” overall, but requiring improvement for effectiveness. And only this morning, the Guardian reported that University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust was exploring the potential of using Babylon’s services to help reduce pressure on A&E and outpatient appointments. KEY TAKEOUTS FROM THE EVALUATION Findings indicate that convenience and ease of access are the two main reasons for patients signing up for the GP at Hand service. “Access to a GP was regarded as more important than all other considerations, and in most cases, this was a result of perceived poor access at their previous practice,” the authors wrote. Digital consultations are the features most commonly used “by far”, although more than half of patients have used the online symptom checker offered by the app, and a large number are choosing telephone over video appointments. Last month, MobiHealthNews reported that data collected by askmyGP in the first quarter of 2019 from 21 practices — with a combined list of around 213,000 patients — showed that a video consultation was requested in 0.1% of cases. The evaluation also indicates that, compared to national data, the rate of consultations per year is higher for GP at Hand patients. The authors noted that they might be using the service “more than would be expected given their age" — 94% are under 45 years — and health needs: “However, it is difficult to form any firm conclusions on whether the apparent relatively high use of BGPaH (Babylon GP at Hand) results from the accessibility of the service, and whether this is linked to unmet need or supply-induced demand." The authors said that, given the profile of the majority of patients using the service — younger, healthier, “potentially more affluent” than at the average practice — it could be “inferred” that the service was not being used by a greater number of older people or people with complex needs. Those without a smartphone or those less “comfortable” using one were also seen as "less likely" to sign up for it. "This clearly limits the number and type of patients that are likely to use the service, with potential implications for health inequalities," they wrote. Meanwhile, 28% of patients deregistered from GP at Hand since July 2017, the equivalent of one in four, compared to the London average of one in six during the same time. NHS England data show that they returned to their previous practice, citing a “dissatisfaction” with the quality of the care provided, not being able to book a face to face appointment without having to have a video/ telephone consultation first, as well as a “change in their health needs”. The authors noted that “the evaluation has not been able to answer the question as to why so many patients leave so quickly after joining the practice”. WORKFORCE IMPLICATIONS But GPs interviewed said they were "highly satisfied working for Babylon" due to the flexibility and independence the work offered — services are mainly delivered by a "large, flexible workforce, the majority of whom work part-time at home". They said they were attracted to the job because it was perceived as offering a "better work-life balance" compared to practices not operating a digital-first model. According to the evaluators, evidence suggests that a model such as the one provided by GP at Hand could positively impact the recruitment and retention of GPs that “may not remain in or enter into general practice otherwise”. But, if it is rolled out more broadly, stakeholders also cautioned that it might make recruiting staff in so-called ‘traditional’ practices "more challenging". ON THE RECORD Trish Longdon, Hammersmith and Fulham Primary Care Commissioning Committee chair, said they would be releasing a response on behalf of the CCG “in due course once there has been an opportunity to review it in full”. Dr Matthew Noble, Babylon medical director, UK Clinical Service, said: “This independent report shows that GP at Hand is loved by all types of patients as they can now access a GP when they need to. I’m particularly pleased that the report has shown how our GPs enjoy their work, aren’t becoming burned out and how our digital-first approach may even be a two-way of encouraging GPs to stay in the profession and to help recruit more doctors into General Practice. “The findings show Babylon GP at Hand isn’t just of great benefit to patients and GPs, it is also saving the NHS time and money. When you consider that the average A&E visit costs £1602 and the average outpatient appointment £1252 then you can see how quickly Babylon GP at Hand and digital-first services can have a positive impact for the NHS.”

Oxfordshire-based Satellite Applications Catapult has already been working with the NHS Arden & GEM CSU for the past year and a half.

Will Smart, CIO for Health and Social Care in England, says the NHS can track the progress of the global digital exemplars against international standards by measuring digital maturity using tools such as EMRAM.

Also: New competition exploring the use of AI and machine learning in the NHS opens today; Irish Life launches app with dacadoo for its clients; Elvie founder would consider moving the business "if it is looking like Brexit will have a negative impact".

Dr Victoria Betton, founder and managing director of mHabitat, will be speaking about this and related issues at the HIMSS & Health 2.0 European conference in Helsinki later this year.

An interview with Liz Ashall-Payne, cofounder and chief executive of app evaluator and advisor organisation ORCHA.

The German firm will provide pharmaceutical insight in a consortium which aims to accelerate discovery and development of new medicines using clinical AI.

Fibre optic internet for the NHS and a new unit for health innovation. Health and social care secretary Matt Hancock has announced this week that fibre optic broadband will be rolled out across all hospitals and GP practices in England in a new bid to improve access to digital services. "(...) We need clinicians and other healthcare professionals to feel confident they can access fast, reliable broadband so they can provide patients with the best possible care,” the secretary said in a statement. It has also been revealed this week that the Accelerated Access Collaborative will become the “umbrella organisation” for health innovation in the UK. A new joint NHS England and NHS Improvement unit is now being set up, and it will be led by director of innovation, research and life sciences Dr Sam Roberts, who will take on the chief executive role. “I want the NHS to be at the forefront of cutting-edge treatments and medical innovations – but often it can take too long for products to get from the bench to the bedside,” added health minister Nicola Blackwood. “The Accelerated Access Collaborative will speed up this process so patients and the NHS can be the first in the world to benefit from the most transformative technologies and treatments as part of our Long Term Plan." … Joyance Partners launches in Europe. VC firm Joyance Partners has appointed a managing director to lead its expansion into the European market. After launching in 2017, the firm has made more than 50 investments relating to emerging science and tech in the health and wellness space. “The European startup scene is growing rapidly, and it needs funds like Joyance to provide the kind of support and capital necessary at the very early stages,” said Paolo Pio, the new MD for Europe, who was previously head of product and business development at Cisco for Europe and Asia Pacific. Managing partner Mike Edelhart said they were "eager to bring our unique moment-of-inception investment approach to Europe".  “We have been gratified that the first year of investment for Joyance US resulted in so many strong, young portfolio companies, some still at the lab stage, pioneering new science that can dramatically improve health and longevity — and with those improvements, expand personal happiness," Edelhart added. ... Philips unveils new deal for its HealthSuite digital platform. Telehealth service provider Chipmunk Health, based in the Netherlands and Canada, will use Philips’ HealthSuite digital platform to roll out its home monitoring solutions, it was announced this week. In the past few months, Philips has revealed similar agreements with various companies, including Ypsomed, Integron, and Alcon. “Many innovative telehealth start-ups have excellent ideas but don’t have the resources to develop the secure, privacy-protected data infrastructure needed to unify and connect devices and data, and securely transmit, store and analyze patient data,” explained Dale Wiggins, Philips business leader for HealthSuite. According to Chipmunk Health’s website, their platform is currently being tested in the Limburg province, in the southeastern part of the Netherlands. “Supporting innovative companies like Chipmunk Health is one of the reasons why we made HealthSuite an open digital platform on which third parties can build their own applications,” Wiggins added.  ... Queen’s University of Belfast spinout receives funding from UK Research and Innovation. Belfast-based Liopa, a spinout of Queen’s University Belfast in Northern Ireland developing lip-reading tech to enable visual speech recognition, has revealed this week that it secured funding to develop a new mobile app, initially to help tracheostomy patients. Liopa will be working with Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Queen’s University Belfast to develop the Speech Recognition App for the Voice Impaired, which will reportedly integrate with LipRead, the startup’s AI engine for visual speech recognition. “This is an innovative application of our proven AI-based Visual Speech Recognition (VSR) system LipRead. LipRead analyses and translates lip movements into recognisable words. The technology allows the translation of lip movement to text using a mobile app on a mobile device which will need very little training and is inexpensive,” said Liam McQuillan, Liopa’s CEO and cofounder. “SRAVI can be deployed on commodity smartphones and tablets, that can be used by multiple patients. Alternative technologies, such as ‘eye-gaze’ systems, require bespoke hardware and are generally much more expensive,” McQuillan added.  … Registration for health innovation summer schools open. EIT Health, a Knowledge and Innovation Community set up by the European Institute for Innovation & Technology in 2008, is running 13 summer schools in Europe on healthy lifestyles, innovation in healthcare and digital transformation this year. Each of the programmes focus on a specific topic, such as mobility and active ageing and data-driven policy in public health. Students and young professionals have until July to submit their applications, and the summer schools will be organised in the Netherlands, Sweden, Spain, France, Portugal and other European countries. “We are delighted to, once again, offer a number of high-calibre programmes to health interested students and young professionals in Europe as part of our Summer Schools,” said Ursula Mühle, EIT Health director of education. “Allowing our participants the opportunity to learn about the latest advancements in health innovation, and develop cutting-edge skills, is crucial to the growth of our sector. Our summer school courses are tailor-made and are a crucial building block of the further educational programming provided by EIT Health," Mühle added.

The resource was developed by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and partner organisations.

Patients are not embracing video calls with the enthusiasm anticipated by NHS England and many GPs themselves, according to new research from leading app provider askmyGP.