Tuesday 22 December 2015

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Sollo Marcomms

Wishing all our clients, friends, suppliers and associates a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year – from all the team at Sollo Marcomms


Merry-Christmas-2015-Download-Images-Free-3



Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Sollo Marcomms

Thursday 17 December 2015

Financial problems 'endemic' in NHS










 




Surgeon

Money problems in the NHS in England are becoming “endemic” – and despite the extra money promised by government, there is no guarantee the service will get back on track, auditors say.


The National Audit Office (NAO) said levels of deficits were “becoming normal practice”.


Last month, ministers unveiled plans to increase the NHS budget by £8.4bn above inflation in this Parliament.


But the NAO said it was not clear if that would lead to stability.


It said much would depend on how NHS England’s five-year plan for reforming services panned out.





Set out last autumn in a document called the Five-Year Forward View, this involves providing more care out of hospitals in a bid to save £22bn by 2020.


But the NAO said it relied on “untested” plans for which there was “limited evidence”.


Graph on finances

The auditors highlighted the growing levels of deficits in the health service.


This year, a deficit of more than £2bn is being forecast by NHS trusts – the bodies responsible for hospitals, ambulance services and mental health units.


Overall, three-quarters of the 239 trusts were overspent at the half-year mark, with the most serious problems being seen in hospitals.


The problems compare with an overspend of just over £840m last year – with the NHS overall relying on bailouts from the government and raiding the capital budget, which is meant to be used on buildings, to balance the books.


The year before that, there was a small overspend and that came after several years of surpluses.



Analysis


Make no mistake, the warning by the National Audit Office is severe. This is a body that uses language carefully, so for it to talk about deficits becoming “endemic” and the current situation being “unsustainable” is pretty unusual.


The fact is that the NHS is entering almost unchartered territory. The last time it racked up significant deficits was a decade ago. But they weren’t on this scale. And, then, the health service was able to spend its way out of the problem (the budget was increasingly rapidly year-on-year by about 7% above inflation).


That option is not available this time. The extra money this Parliament works out at less than 2% a year.


You probably have to go back to the early 1950s – just after the health service was formed – for the last time money was so tight. The response then? Services were scaled back and charges introduced for the likes of dental care, spectacles and prescriptions.


This time, much hope is being attached to NHS England’s five-year Forward View. It talks about moving care away from hospitals and a greater emphasis on prevention. If that doesn’t work, everyone agrees, the health service has a huge problem.


 



The NAO said problems being seen now were unsustainable – and could end up consuming much of the budget increase the NHS is getting.


NAO head Amyas Morse urged the government and regulators to get a grip. “Running a deficit seems to be becoming normal practice for acute trusts,” he said.


Meg Hillier, chair of the House of Commons’ Public Accounts Committee, said: “It is simply unacceptable. The strain placed on NHS trusts shows no sign of abating.”


StretcherImage copyright Thinkstock

Meanwhile, Anita Charlesworth, of the Health Foundation, a leading NHS think tank, described the finances as “truly dire” and called for a transformation fund to be established to ensure changes in the five-year plan took place.


But Health Minister David Prior said the extra money for the NHS in the coming years showed the government was “committed” to the health service and predicted finances would be much stronger next year.


“Hospitals must now show tight financial grip and fully introduce our measures to reduce expensive temporary staffing and drive through the productivity and efficiency improvements,” he added.


Source BBC News http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-35062121





  • 16 December 2015


  • From the section Health












Financial problems 'endemic' in NHS

Wednesday 9 December 2015

A digital NHS for everyone – Tim Kelsey and Martha Lane Fox

One of the founding principles of the National Health Service was to ensure that everybody —irrespective of means, age, sex, or occupation—should have equal access to the best and most up to date health and care services available.  Principles of universality, equity and quality remain at its core.


nhsengland_logo





Digital technology can radically improve care, transform the relationship between clinician and patient and place power in the hands of the people to take more control of their wellbeing.  But universality, equity and quality must be at the heart of how we adopt, build and scale these technologies.  We must ensure that no-one is left behind.

The internet touches every area of our lives: it has made things faster, cheaper and better.  Three quarters of us go online every day.  But the fact remains there are over twelve million people living in the UK who lack the basic digital skills to send and receive an email or browse the internet and over six million who have never been online.


The network age brings incredible opportunities for healthcare.  Digital heath tools and information can make care more accessible and help people to better manage their health and avoid unnecessary GP visits and hospital admissions.  But those with the most health and social care needs are often the least likely to be online.  Older people, in particular, often lack computer confidence but have high health and social care needs and 33% of those with registered disabilities have never used the internet.


Digital health and care services should be designed around the needs of the hardest to reach and the least digitally skilled. If we do this they will be easy for everyone to use.


Last autumn, the NHS’ collective vision for its future, the Five Year Forward View, told us that unless we reshape care, harness technology and drive down variations in quality and safety, patients’ changing needs will go unmet, people will be harmed who should have been cured, and unacceptable variations in outcomes will persist.


Since then, the National Information Board – which brings together organisations in the NHS, public health, clinical science, social care, local government and public representatives – has been hard at work identifying how to use technology to improve peoples’ lives and patient care.


Much has been achieved: 98.7% of GP practices now offer patients online appointment booking, ordering repeat prescriptions and access their records; NHS Choices, which has more than 50 million visits each month, offers a range of digital health resources including the first NHS ‘app store’ that has driven engagement with online tools and apps effective in improving mental health outcomes; and MyNHS, a digital tool that enables the user to compare the outcomes and effectiveness of health and care organisations across the county has revolutionised transparency of local services.


But we need to do better, faster.


The NHS can drive engagement with digital health services and tackle health inequalities by mobilising its assets: its premises and its people.


Turning on free Wi-Fi access across the NHS estate could significantly increase take up of online health tools.  It would allow patients staying in hospital to self-monitor their conditions using apps and maintain contact with social networks that can support recovery and promote well-being. Wi-Fi would also reduce the administrative burden on doctors, nurses and care staff, currently estimated to take up to 70% of a junior doctor’s day, freeing up more time to be spent with patients and enable safer working practices such as e-prescribing known to reduce medication errors by 50%.


Moving on to NHS staff, we need to build the digital skills of the NHS workforce so they can make the most of the digital opportunity and feel confident to recommend these services to patients.


Despite the wide availability of digital services in primary care, awareness and take-up remains low – only 12% of appointment bookings are made online.  We need a concerted drive to boost awareness and use of digital services in primary care over the next two years.


Universal free access to broadband, with the skills to use it, has the potential to be one of the great public health advances of the twenty-first century. Those who lack access to the public utility of the internet will, like those who lacked access to the public utility of clean water and sanitation in the nineteenth century, be at risk of increasing inequality and poorer health status. We need to take action now to harness the power of the network age for all to transform the NHS, and the health of our nation.



Martha Lane Fox, founder of Doteveryone.org.uk, was asked by the Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt to recommend practical proposals for NIB to be presented on 8 December on how to ensure increased take-up of new digital innovations in health.


Tim Kelsey is NHS England’s National Director for Patients and Information and chair of the National Information Board, a cross-government body which brings together national health and care organisations from the NHS, public health, clinical science, social care and local government, along with appointed independent representatives to develop the strategic priorities for data and technology in the UK.


Source NHS England https://www.england.nhs.uk/2015/12/08/digital-nhs/






A digital NHS for everyone – Tim Kelsey and Martha Lane Fox

Friday 4 December 2015

iPhone app helps diagnose cardiac arrhythmias

iRhythm Technologies launches myZIO app







iRhythm Technologies myZIO app


iRhythm Technologies has launched its myZIO app, which promises to help doctors diagnose heart conditions with more accuracy and less disruption to patients’ lives.


Interest has been growing in the combined use of wearable devices and apps for remote and continuous monitoring of heart patterns, looking for conditions such as atrial fibrillation and abnormally slow or fast heart rates.


iRhythm’s ZIO system is based on the use of a waterproof, wireless patch device – worn on the chest for up to for 14 days – that can monitor and digitally record any irregular heartbeat symptoms.


Now, the launch of the iOS app as a digital companion to the patch means that – in addition to the data delivered to the physician – patients themselves can log heart symptoms and other information.


Patients can currently report symptoms associated with arrhythmia by pressing a button on the patch, but adding in the smartphone app provides “a more complete picture of the patient’s health”, according to the company.


Moreover, the app is designed to be a two-way communication channel, and will also allow patients to access educational information, reminders and assistance with using the patch.


That ties in with the company’s previously-stated intention of becoming more than a device-selling company – with a business model based on the delivery of high-quality information to both clinicians and patients.


iRhythm’s patch system is already starting to make headway as a diagnostic tool in cardiology as it is much more convenient than Holter monitoring, the technology it is starting to replace, and to date has been used in around 400,000 people.


A Holter system has a battery life of up to 48 hours – which may not be long enough for a diagnosis – and patients have to refrain from bathing or exercise while using it.


Meanwhile, aside from being less burdensome to use, iRhythm’s system also seems to be more effective – in studies it was found to detect 57% more arrhythmias than Holter monitoring, giving a diagnosis in around 90% of cases.


“Each year, millions of patients see physicians because they feel symptoms that may be caused by an irregular heartbeat, or arrhythmia,” said iRhythm in a statement.


“The iRhythm ZIO Service allows physicians to diagnose arrhythmias more definitively than via previously available diagnostic technologies.”


Source PMLive http://www.pmlive.com/pharma_news/iphone_app_helps_diagnose_cardiac_arrhythmias_877181








iPhone app helps diagnose cardiac arrhythmias

Thursday 26 November 2015

An NHS funding plan at last – but what’s the catch?










 




Nurse on wardThe money has been promised to frontline services, but details of other areas of health spending are yet to be announced

Long awaited, much speculated about and now announced by the Chancellor George Osborne on an early morning visit to a south London GP surgery – the funding plan for NHS England over the next four years has been set out at last. So is there a catch and what are the strings attached?


The immediate reaction from NHS leaders is relief that the Chancellor has delivered the funding they asked for in the next financial year. Simon Stevens, the Head of NHS England, seemed relaxed enough as he joined Mr Osborne and the Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt for a chat with staff at the Streatham High practice. Patients waiting for their appointments had an unrivalled opportunity to pass on their views of the NHS.


The Chancellor has agreed to award £3.8 billion above inflation to NHS England, the provider of frontline services, for the 2016/17 year. This amounts to a 3.7% real increase to the budget of £101 billion this year, significantly above the average of just over 1% in recent years. So the demand for “frontloading” of Government investment in the NHS has been delivered.


Looking further ahead, the annual increases fall back nearer 1% each year but in 2020/21 the much talked about pledge of an extra £8 billion is delivered with a little more on top at £8.4 billion. For the day to day running of the NHS, then, Simon Stevens has got what he asked for. Ministers argue that the additional funding amounts to more than £10 billion once the £2 billion boost for health this year is included.


Short term gains


So far, so straightforward. But as always there are complications once the detail is scrutinised. Simon Stevens had originally asked for the costs of delivering Government pledges on 7 day services in the NHS to be covered separately. But the Treasury does not see it that way and expects the numbers announced today to include financing more services in hospitals at weekends and encouraging GPs to extend access.


As one source put it, the financing of a wider range of services at weekends will be “backloaded” – in other words, a few years down the track. Under the Treasury allocation, there is a sharper annual increase in 2020/21 which could help fund the 7 day plan – but that is after the next General Election. The question now is how much can be delivered by NHS England before polling day.


NHS England’s budget is not, of course, the whole story for health funding. As I revealed last Friday, cuts in public health spending by local authorities will be made. This includes areas like sexual health and smoking cessation. Experts in the field argued then that reductions in spending on prevention will not help the NHS one bit. And we don’t know yet what the Government plans for social care are. All will become clearer in the full spending review announcement on Wednesday.


Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland’s administrations will receive proportionate increases based on the Department of Health’s overall budget which will be published on Wednesday. With reductions in non NHS areas, that budget will not rise as fast as the NHS England figure announced today.


The £3.8 billion for next year is more than what some had predicted. But unless the Government clampdown on agency staff spending delivers radical reductions, an underlying £2 billion annual deficit amongst trusts will be carried forward. Add in the cost of higher pension contributions taking effect with public sector pension reforms and a chunk of the new money is eaten up just keeping services going as they are now.


Short term, in other words next year, Simon Stevens and Jeremy Hunt have got the money they wanted. Further afield the immense challenge of delivering efficiency savings and a wider range of weekend services remains.


Source 












An NHS funding plan at last – but what’s the catch?

Tuesday 17 November 2015

More than 400 pharmacists to be recruited to GP surgeries by next year (NHS England)

More than seven million patients will soon have access to expert advice from a clinical pharmacist when they visit their GP, thanks to the expansion of a new scheme to fund, recruit and employ pharmacists in local practices.


HMC_Pharmacy-Internet-Image1





NHS England has more than doubled funding from £15m to £31m for its clinical pharmacists in general practice pilot, due to an overwhelmingly positive response from GP surgeries. NHS England, Health Education England, the Royal College of General Practitioners and the BMA are today announcing the 73 applications that will receive a share of the funding, which will cover 698 GP practices and include 403 clinical pharmacists.

Recruitment of pharmacists for the three year initiative, which was announced in July, will begin immediately, giving patients the additional support of an expert pharmacist in their GP surgery from Spring 2016.


Examples of the benefits patients can expect include extra help to manage long-term conditions, specific advice for those with multiple medications and more access to clinical advice on treatments.


Regional assessment panels examined applications against national criteria including the potential for the pilot to improve access to general practice for patients, reduce workload for GPs and to support clinical pharmacists within a multidisciplinary team. Additional funding was found to more than double the number of supported applications after the panels were impressed by the outstanding quality of responses.


The pilots will be evaluated and will build on the experiences of general practices that already have clinical pharmacists as part of their team, in some cases as partners. The work is part of the GP Workforce 10 Point Plan, which aims to strengthen and support the GP workforce.


Simon Stevens, NHS England Chief Executive said: “Joint working between pharmacists and GPs has the potential to have major benefits for both patients and clinical professionals. This pilot will be a win-win for GPs, pharmacists and patients.


“By testing these new ways of working across professional boundaries we are taking another step forward to relieving some of the pressure that GPs are clearly under and ensuring patients see the health professional that best suits their needs.”


Professor Ian Cumming, Chief Executive, Health Education England said: “We will be supporting this important pilot by delivering the education and training programme through our national delivery partner Centre for Postgraduate Pharmacy Education.


“Pharmacists are key to effective multi-disciplinary teams in GP practices and to the delivery of high quality patient care in a modern primary care environment. This is the one of the key recommendations of the recently published Primary Care Workforce commission.”


Sandra Gidley Chair of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society English Board said: “This extra investment of £16m in the pilot is fantastic news.  It’s a real vote of confidence in the pharmacy profession and a huge step towards the integration of pharmacists into primary care.


“NHS England’s support in evolving the role of the practice pharmacist will prove enormously valuable to both patients and other clinicians. More patients will see at first-hand the difference a practice pharmacist can make to their health and more GPs will come to regard them as an essential part of the multidisciplinary team in their practice.”


Dr Maureen Baker, Chair of the Royal College of GPs, said: “The opportunity for more pharmacists to work in GP surgeries as part of the practice team is great news for GPs and our patients. It’s wonderful that what started out as a joint statement between our College and colleagues at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society just eight months ago, is now becoming a reality and we can start to reap the benefits.


“We have a severe shortage of GPs across the UK, and having highly trained pharmacists working with us to take on tasks such as medication management, will help alleviate the intense pressures we are under, and improve patient safety.


“The feedback that we have received from our members who already have a practice based pharmacist is that they play an invaluable role, so we are pleased that NHS England has taken the idea so seriously and so swiftly brought it to fruition.


“There is a long way to go to solve the workforce crisis in general practice and creating new roles, such as practice-based pharmacists, is just one of the steps in our 10 point plan to build the general practice workforce, launched earlier this year with NHS England, Health Education England, and the BMA. We now need to do everything we can to ‘recruit retain return’ as many GPs as possible so that our profession can continue to deliver the care our patients need and deserve.”


Dr Chaand Nagpaul, BMA GP committee chair, said: “General practice is under extreme pressure after a decade of escalating patient demand and falling resources, with patients understandably frustrated that they are facing longer waiting times for appointments. Nine out of ten GPs have told the BMA that the standard 10 minute consultation is not sufficient and the unprecedented workload has negatively impacted on the quality of care given to patients.


“The pilot scheme is a positive and important opportunity to develop the role of pharmacists working in practices to relieve some of the unsustainable pressures faced by GPs up and down the country. Pharmacists bring specific skills that should add value as part of multi-professional teams working in GP surgeries.   We need to ensure that the benefits from these pilots can be extended to all practices nationally, so that GPs can be supported to have the time to see the increasing numbers of patients with complex and long-term conditions, and in order to provide quality and accessible care.”


Source NHS England https://www.england.nhs.uk/2015/11/16/pharmacists-recruited/






More than 400 pharmacists to be recruited to GP surgeries by next year (NHS England)

Monday 2 November 2015

HealthTechJobs; The multi-platform digital approach to recruitment, launches today


2nd November 2015


Today, HealthTechJobs launches the most dynamic jobboard serving the UK Health and Medical Technology sector, aiming to accelerate the “vacancy to candidate” connection time and help to fill the sector technology skills gap.


screenshot HTJ crop

Each posting on HealthTechJobs reaches thousands of healthcare and medical technology professionals on multiple digital and social platforms and through our affiliate recruitment media networks. Every vacancy will be automatically posted on HealthTechJobs’ Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook profiles, listed on indeed.co.uk (the UK’s largest jobboard) and promoted through our monthly jobs e-newsletter ensuring immediate and maximum exposure for every vacancy to both the public and private sectors.

Using our simple and cost effective interface, vacancies can be posted in minutes to our multiple digital, social and affiliate media platforms ensuring your vacancy reaches the widest possible audience of Health and Medical Technology professionals in the UK through whichever their preferred digital channel.

Post and pay for your job vacancy easily and quickly through your HealthTechJobs’  Employer account with PayPal or credit card. A single job posting is only £199 for 30 days.

For volume posting clients invoicing terms can be arranged.

For more information please contact hello@healthtechjobs.uk or simply visit HealthTechJobs and create your Employer account. Candidates please feel free to sign up to our job alerts and connect with us through our social networks.


HTJ twitter-icon


Source HealthTechJobs http://us12.campaign-archive2.com/?u=d324065d7240889b57697e0cd&id=ad5f49399b



HealthTechJobs; The multi-platform digital approach to recruitment, launches today

HealthTechJobs; The multi-platform digital approach to recruitment, launches today

2nd November 2015


Today, HealthTechJobs launches the most dynamic jobboard serving the UK Health and Medical Technology sector, aiming to accelerate the “vacancy to candidate” connection time and help to fill the sector technology skills gap.


screenshot HTJ crop

Each posting on HealthTechJobs reaches thousands of healthcare and medical technology professionals on multiple digital and social platforms and through our affiliate recruitment media networks. Every vacancy will be automatically posted on HealthTechJobs’ Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook profiles, listed on indeed.co.uk (the UK’s largest jobboard) and promoted through our monthly jobs e-newsletter ensuring immediate and maximum exposure for every vacancy to both the public and private sectors.

Using our simple and cost effective interface, vacancies can be posted in minutes to our multiple digital, social and affiliate media platforms ensuring your vacancy reaches the widest possible audience of Health and Medical Technology professionals in the UK through whichever their preferred digital channel.


HTJ twitter-icon

Post and pay for your job vacancy easily and quickly through your HealthTechJobs’  Employer account with PayPal or credit card. A single job posting is only £199 for 30 days.

For volume posting clients invoicing terms can be arranged.


For more information please contact hello@healthtechjobs.uk or simply visit HealthTechJobs and create your Employer account.


Candidates please feel free to sign up to our job alerts and connect with us through our social networks.


Source HealthTechJobs http://us12.campaign-archive2.com/?u=d324065d7240889b57697e0cd&id=ad5f49399b



HealthTechJobs; The multi-platform digital approach to recruitment, launches today

Wednesday 28 October 2015

Early cancer diagnosis variation 'unacceptable'

Vital opportunities to diagnose cancer patients in England earlier and increase their survival chances are being missed, experts are warning.











Cancer Research UK found “unacceptable variation” between different areas after reviewing cases in 2012 and 2013.


It said if all areas were as good as the best, 20,000 cases could have been spotted sooner across the country.


The worst area for late diagnosis was Merseyside, where half of cancers were found at a late stage.


This compared to the area incorporating Bath, Gloucestershire, Swindon and Wiltshire, where 40% were diagnosed late.





If that gap was closed, another 1,000 patients in Merseyside could have had their cancer diagnosed earlier.


Easier to spot


Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly were found to have the second best rates of early diagnosis out of the 25 areas in England, with 43% found late.


At the other end of the scale, Greater Manchester and Durham, Darlington and Tees performed only slightly better than Merseyside.












The worst areas for early diagnosis
RegionPercentage of late stage diagnoses
Merseyside49%
Greater Manchester48%
Durham, Darlington and Tees48%

Earlier diagnosis can make a significant difference to survival.


For the eight most common cancers being diagnosed at stage one or two – classed as early diagnosis – means an individual has an 80% chance of surviving at least 10 years compared to 25% when the cancer is found at stages three or four.


CRUK, which used official data from Public Health England, to carry out its analysis, said it was unclear exactly why the variation was found


One factor is likely to be differences in the types of cancer being diagnosed – some are easier to spot earlier than others.


But the charity said there were likely to be other factors at play that were easier to tackle.


Diagnostic tests


CRUK’s Dr Jodie Moffat said: “These might include patients not going to their doctor as early as they could with possible cancer symptoms, and GPs sometimes failing to suspect cancer or not referring patients for diagnostic tests promptly.”


CRUK will be launching an early diagnosis campaign next week to encourage people to keep an eye on their bodies.












The best areas for early diagnosis
RegionPercentage of late stage diagnoses
Bath, Gloucestershire, Swindon and Wiltshire40%
Devon, Cornwall and Isles of Scilly43%
East Anglia44%

Early diagnosis was one of the key themes of NHS England’s cancer strategy that was launched in the summer.


It pledged to create a target for diagnosis – four weeks from urgent referral from a GP – to help save lives.


A key element of this was increasingly the ability of GPs to order cancer tests directly themselves – instead of having to go through a hospital consultant.


Maureen Baker, of the Royal College of GPs, said this would make a difference, but said GPs were still doing a good job.


She added: “Where our patients live should not be a factor in their health outcomes.”


Sean Duffy, NHS England’s national clinical director for cancer, said the health service was working together to “deliver” on what was promised in the strategy.


Information for what stage a cancer is diagnosed at is only available for about two thirds of the 280,000 new cases a year. The 20,000 figure quoted by CRUK is based on these cases.


Source BBC News/Health http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-34653560












Early cancer diagnosis variation 'unacceptable'

Monday 26 October 2015

The rise of search marketing in healthcare

Search is ubiquitous, but what is pharma doing to assist in the user journey?







Every single person with access to the World Wide Web does the same thing when they need information – they search. So if this is the first step in our customers’ user journeys – whether they are carers, patients or healthcare professionals – what are we doing to help them?


social-media-pharma


In the health and wellness area, and certainly in the prescription-only medicine market, search is a relatively new discipline. So we need to understand how we harness it and what we should do in order to see the benefits.


Forward-thinking companies are investing in their teams and training people in social media; analytics; data visualisation; search engine marketing; and search engine optimisation in order to provide more relevant solutions to their target audiences.


But the key, according to Kate Burns, general manager of Buzzfeed, is to research where our target audiences are already online and place content there, rather than trying to lure them to our own branded websites.


While Buzzfeed is a global media company, many people share or consume content without knowing it has come from Buzzfeed. It is this power of sharing from peer to peer that is important in spreading online messages – whether they have been developed from an editorial, non-paid or branded standpoint.


Content is shared because of emotion – if people see something which reinforces their views or makes them feel better, they are likely to share it with others.


People spend most of their time on social networks, and they don’t want to be taken away from what they’re doing, looking at, whoever they’re communicating with, or what they’re reading. Content should therefore meet people where they are already.


Aileen Dalisay, head of health at Google UK, says that while some companies may be hesitant to get involved, the pace of change is only going to get faster. There are three billion people online today and Google expects one billion more to come online every year, which would mean the rest of the population could be on board within five years!


Revolutionary technology is on the horizon too – including smart contact lenses, self-driving cars and smart clothing – providing our audiences with more options to access online materials.


Google constantly studies how people search for the information they want, down to the last key word. In the last five years there has been a huge increase in searches using the words `near me':  so people want an immediate response wherever they are. It’s therefore important that the first information they find is the correct and most useful. That’s where we have an opportunity.


However, when we asked 90% of our partners what their search engine marketing strategy looks like it was a bit of a barren desert. That’s why we launched Search Unlimited.


Last month in the UK, searches for `diabetes symptoms’ (as an exact query) totalled just fewer than 50,000 – the first UK pharmaceutical company appears on page seven. Likewise for `heart attack symptoms’ 12,500 searches every month, yet the first pharma company link appears on page four.


Search engine marketing and search engine optimisation are the foundations for all online communications.


The biggest opportunities come in the smallest moments – there are hundreds of millions of searches in healthcare across billions of people providing an unprecedented opportunity for brands to be relevant at the moment of need and win people’s hearts and minds.


Whether it’s searching, whether it’s video content or whether it’s social content – businesses have an opportunity to interact with people and join them in their journey.


Source PMLive http://www.pmlive.com/blogs/smart_thinking/archive/2015/october/the_rise_of_search_marketing_in_healthcare_838082








The rise of search marketing in healthcare

Tuesday 20 October 2015

NHS starts 'stem cell factory' for diabetes

 











The NHS is setting up a stem cell factory in Liverpool to treat people with diabetes.




stem cellsImage copyright SPL
NHS Blood and Transplant wants to make and give the experimental therapy to patients at high risk of developing diabetes-related kidney problems.

It is hoped the injections will slow down or stop tissue damage, removing the need for dialysis or transplants.


Diabetes is the most common cause of end stage kidney disease, which kills around 40,000 people a year in the UK.


The 48 patients taking part in the study will be treated at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust and Belfast Health and Social Care Trust or at another trial site in Italy.





The injection of cells they will receive are called stromal cells and they are grown from donated human bone marrow.


These immature cells can grow and change into a variety of tissue – bone, cartilage and fat. But it is their ability to release proteins that reduce inflammation in the kidney which interests the researchers.


KidneysImage copyright SCIEPRO/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

In animal studies, stromal cell injections have provided measurable improvements in kidney function and it is hoped they will do the same in people.


Only some of the patients in the study will get the real jab (at different doses). The others will get a dummy injection. This will let the investigators check whether the treatment really works and if it has any side effects.


Project leader Prof Timothy O’Brien, from the National University of Ireland, Galway, said: “Diabetic kidney disease is very common so any therapy that could slow the progression of this disease would have a significant impact.”


About three in four people with diabetes will develop kidney disease. It is caused by damage to the small blood vessels that supply the kidneys. But it can be prevented or delayed by keeping blood sugar and blood pressure levels under tight control.


Dr Eric Austin, head of Stem Cell Immunotherapy at NHS Blood and Transplant’s site in Speke, Liverpool, said: “This is an exciting project for us to be involved with – especially as the treatment has the potential to lead to lifesaving outcomes for a major illness.”


The research project, NEPHSTROM, is being funded by a 6m euro grant from the European Union Horizon 2020 programme.


Source BBC News/Health http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-34570550












NHS starts 'stem cell factory' for diabetes

Monday 19 October 2015

NHS apps library finally closed

But new incarnation will be released with more ‘rigorous standards’, we’re told





Crop of doctor with pen and clipboard

The NHS’ security-flawed Apps Library has been shelved, following widespread criticism of the site.




Last month Imperial College London revealed serious problems with a number of the 79 apps sitting on the NHS-branded store.


These included software tools that provided diabetic users with inappropriate insulin doses, handed asthmatics shoddy peak flow calculators, and many apps with no security controls.


Just two apps which appeared on the previous app store will be included on the new NHS Mental Health Apps Library, dedicated to mental health issues. An NHS spokeswoman said the decision to take down the widely-criticised apps store was unrelated to the findings of the research.


She said: “We are working to upgrade the Health Apps Library, which was launched as a pilot site in 2013 and reviews and recommends apps against a defined set of criteria.”


Phil Booth, director of patient confidentiality group MedConfidential, welcomed the move. He added: “NHS England should take moral responsibility for its past misjudgements and malpractice. It shouldn’t just silently withdraw a few of its worst mistakes, perform a reboot and hope people forget.


“Medical apps, like medicines, can be powerful interventions with real effects in real people’s lives. They must be treated as such.”


The NHS said it will launch a series of new apps stores “to promote clinically validated apps in a range of other areas including diabetes, obesity prevention, maternity and early years, smoking cessation and COPD.”


The NHS Health Apps Library was launched as a pilot in 2013 and is due to end later this month. The NHS said the Health Apps Library reviews and recommends apps on the basis that they are clinically safe, relevant to people living in England and compliant with the Data Protection Act. A spokesman stressed the scheme does not formally “accredit” apps.


The NHS Mental Health Apps Library was launched in March 2015. The NHS said it is compliant with the Improving Access to Psychological (IAPT) quality standards and offers National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) approved treatments for depression and anxiety disorders. ®


Source The Register http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/10/13/nhs_apps_library_shelved/







NHS apps library finally closed

Friday 16 October 2015

Auditor General reports on issues raised in audits of three NHS boards (Scotland)

 






scrubs


The Auditor General for Scotland, Caroline Gardner, has issued reports to the Scottish Parliament on matters raised in the audits of the 2014/15 accounts for NHS 24, NHS Tayside and NHS Highland.


 


The reports draw Parliament’s attention to:


  • Problems and delays with NHS 24 implementing a major new IT system

  • NHS Tayside’s need for a Scottish Government loan to break even – for the third successive year

  • Improvements at NHS Highland following a critical report last year.

The report on NHS 24 is a follow up to one carried out last year. Delays in implementing a new IT system have brought substantial additional costs and risks to the board’s ability to meet its financial targets in future years. The implementation date for the new system has been delayed from June 2013 to October 2015. The estimated cost of the new system is £117.4 million, £41.6 million (55 per cent) higher than the original estimate of £75.8 million.


NHS Tayside’s continued reliance on loans (brokerage) to balance its budget largely stems from overspends on workforce and primary care prescribing, retrospective enhancements to holiday pay, and difficulties in selling surplus properties. It received £14.2 million from the Scottish Government in 2014/15 to break even. As well as repaying this loan and meeting continued workforce and primary prescribing spending pressures, NHS Tayside needs to make £27 million in savings in 2015/16.


The NHS Highland report provides an update on progress since a critical report last year on its 2013/14 accounts and responds to a number of issues raised by the Public Audit Committee in its own report in June 2015. The board has strengthened its financial management arrangements but more needs to be done to develop longer-term financial planning and reduce reliance on non-recurring savings.


Source Audit Scotland http://www.audit-scotland.gov.uk/media/article.php?id=312







Auditor General reports on issues raised in audits of three NHS boards (Scotland)

Wednesday 14 October 2015

New mobile-first online network for doctors launches

MedShr aims to be the future of medical education







Mobile social network for doctors MedShrA new mobile-based social network for doctors has been launched by a London-based doctor.


MedShr is a private, professional network for doctors to share knowledge and improve their medical skills and has been set up by founder and CEO Dr Asif Qasim.


He said: “Case discussion is at the heart of how doctors learn, from medical school through to consultants and specialist surgeons. Talking about cases is critical to the way we share knowledge.


“We started online case discussion several years ago at a time when cardiologists were still posting CDs of coronary angiograms and scans to one another. We built a web platform that allowed doctors to upload, share and discuss images as part of a secure professional network. There was a fantastic response and developing MedShr was the next step.”


MedShr is working in partnership with SARD JV – a UK provider of appraisal software for doctors – to allow consultants to reflect on clinical cases for appraisal and revalidation.


It is also currently running a pilot that allows junior doctors in London to regularly submit cases to their training portfolio via the network.


MedShr‘s advisory board includes Martin Ellis, chairman of UK medical affairs, pharmaceutical marketing and medical education agency Havas-Medicom.


“Peer to peer learning, with user-generated content, has rapidly become mainstream information in a number of consumer sectors and MedShr is an important and logical extension of this proven learning model,” he said.


“Continuing medical education is an imperative in these days of rapid advances in medicine and MedShr will undoubtedly become a major source of information and best practice among healthcare professionals.”


Source PMLive http://www.pmlive.com/blogs/digital_intelligence/archive/2015/october/new_mobile-first_online_network_for_doctors_launches_840706








New mobile-first online network for doctors launches

Tuesday 13 October 2015

Health professionals happy with transparency on pharma payments

Comes as pharma companies prepare for payment disclosure database






ABPIA poll of healthcare professionals (HCPs) in the UK has found that a majority believe payments made by pharma companies should be made public.

The survey of more than 500 doctors, nurses, hospital specialists and pharmacists, commissioned by the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI), indicated that 87% of respondents felt payments should be transparent.


The finding comes as pharma companies in Europe prepare for the implementation of payment disclosure database – spearheaded by the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) – that is due to come into effect by June 30, 2016. Under the lead of the ABPI, UK drugmakers have been disclosing aggregated (anonymous) data on payments made to HCPs since 2012.


The initiative in Europe is led by the industry, unlike the US where the Physician Payment Sunshine Act implemented a federally-mandated disclosure requirement, with the first figures published earlier this year.


The pharma-led system requires disclosure with HCP consent because of data protection and other laws, according to an EFPIA question and answer document, while in the US all payments above a certain threshold must be disclosed. Unlike the US model it also does not cover payments made for R&D purposes.


However, in Europe there is also a drive towards legislative disclosure requirements, with France, Portugal, Denmark and the UK all implementing new laws that will make disclosure of payments mandatory, regardless of HCP consent.


The ABPI’s poll found that 69% of HCPs with a current relationship with one or more pharmaceutical companies say that they have given or are likely to give permission for pharmaceutical companies they work with to disclose their payment information.


Around a third (32%) of those surveyed felt it was unnecessary to declare payments from pharma companies to individually named HCPs, and one in four(26%) said declaring these payments will adversely affect medical innovation.


While the majority (75%) of HCPs said the new policy will have no effect on their relationship with pharma companies, 23% of GPs say that they will be less likely to work with industry in future, a higher proportion than hospital specialists (17%), pharmacists (10%) or nurses (6%).


Dr Virginia Acha, executive director of research, medical and innovation at the ABPI, said: “In any other industry, it is expected – and even applauded – when innovators work with users of their products and services to make progress.  We believe this is also true for medicines.


“We are proud of the high-quality working relationships we have with HCPs in the UK,” she continued.  “However, it is important to make sure these relationships are transparent.”


Source PMLive http://www.pmlive.com/pharma_news/health_professionals_happy_with_transparency_on_pharma_payments_840514








Health professionals happy with transparency on pharma payments

Friday 9 October 2015

Novo launches online news channel for haemophilia patients

New medical information website aims to be a ‘simple, centralised repository’






Novo NordiskNovo Nordisk has launched a new website that it hopes will be a simple, centralised repository for haemophilia patients in the US and their carers.

A key feature of RareBleedingDisorders.com will be its news channel, which will cover data from leading medical congresses for patients.


David Cooper, senior director of medical affairs at Novo Nordisk, said: “Novo Nordisk collaborated with medical professionals, people with bleeding disorders and caregivers to create this dynamic resource that helps community members become better informed.


“RareBleedingDisorders.com explores the mechanism of disease, signs and symptoms, and risk factors, as well as the process for appropriate diagnosis and treatment of congenital hemophilia A and B, acquired haemophilia, congenital factor VII deficiency, congenital factor XIII deficiency, Glanzmann’s thrombasthenia and other rare bleeding disorders.”


The website will feature new disease-state specific information announcements and research updates, links to patient organisations, government bodies and professional organisations, and downloadable information on the condition.


Source PMLive http://www.pmlive.com/blogs/digital_intelligence/archive/2015/october/novo_nordisk_launches_online_news_channel_for_haemophilia_patients_836550








Novo launches online news channel for haemophilia patients

Thursday 8 October 2015

MSD launches preventative healthcare accelerator

Joins forces with Wayra Open Future for Velocity Health fund







Digital pharmaMerck Sharp & Dohme (MSD) has joined forces with Spanish telecoms company Telefonica to launch a new healthcare accelerator fund.


Velocity Health will be the UK’s first digital preventative healthcare accelerator and sees the pharma company collaborate with Telefonica’s Wayra Open Future start-up programme.


MSD’s managing director Mike Nally said: “Technology is revolutionising how we manage healthcare and the UK can be at the heart of it. Digital start-ups are at the forefront of this innovation.


“As a healthcare company with a long legacy of investing in innovation and R&D, we want to actively invest in these types of businesses and harness the amazing talent that is emerging so that we become equally good at ‘recognising and preventing’ disease as ‘diagnosing and treating’ to help reduce demand for expensive acute services and capacity in the long term.”


On offer via Velocity Health is a potential £64,000 injection for start-ups that can ‘reimagine healthcare beyond the 21st century’.


In particular MSD hopes to help fund start-ups that can address the challenges outlined in the NHS Five Year Forward View, which was published last October and set out the UK health service’s future direction.


Velocity Health will offer a number of start-ups a 10-month accelerator programme involving access to a network of mentors, coaches and investors who will help nurture each business.


Up to a total of £64,000 will be offered to each start-up which will include 50% funds and the rest made up of dedicated acceleration services, including office space within Wayra Open Future’s academy in Central London.


They could also, potentially, gain access to Telefonica’s customer base (more than 300 million) and MSD’s networks locally and globally.


Gary Stewart, director at Wayra Open Future, UK, said: “We know that to make a real impact, we need to have a long term vision and look ahead to the next century of delivering innovative healthcare solutions.


“Through Velocity Health, we want to empower patients to take more control and ownership over their wellbeing and believe emerging digital technologies have a vital part to play in achieving this goal.”


Source PMLive http://www.pmlive.com/blogs/digital_intelligence/archive/2015/october/msd_launches_preventative_healthcare_accelerator_832760








MSD launches preventative healthcare accelerator

Wednesday 7 October 2015

IBM teams up with Teva for global eHealth collaboration

Will also partner with ICON on cancer trials project







IBM Watson Health


IBM has signed deals with Teva and ICON that will see the firms use services based on its Watson supercomputer.


The agreement with Teva will involve the development of global eHealth solutions using the Watson Health Cloud by IBM and the Israeli company.


Teva becomes the first pharmaceutical firm to sign-up to use the development platform and aims to use it to target complex and chronic conditions such as asthma, pain, migraine and neurodegenerative diseases.


The partners will also harness big data and machine learning technology to create disease models and advanced therapeutic solutions.


Guy Hadari, SVP and CIO for Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, said: “Teva is actively exploring the e-health evolution with a strong focus on fulfilling unmet and emerging patients’ needs. The IBM Watson Health Cloud provides a strong foundation on which we can realise this vision.


“By building on the Watson Health Cloud, we believe Teva will be in a unique position to put the best information and insights in the hands of physicians, care teams and patients, to empower treatment optimisation for individuals and populations across the spectrum of acute and chronic conditions.”


As part of the collaboration IBM’s Global Business Services arm will work closely with a Teva analytics team to assess the data and the analytics model requirements for a real world evidence e-health solution.


Clinical trial matching


Meanwhile, IBM’s deal with contract research organisation ICON will see it target patient recruitment with a Watson-powered ‘instantaneous clinical trial matching solution’.


This will be applied to breast, lung, colon and rectal cancer trials and aims to allow ICON to instantly tell trial sponsors how many patients match their trial criteria and where they’re located.


Despite the industry’s best efforts, patient recruitment remains costly and ineffective, with more than $1.3bn spent on it each year while in oncology cancer patient participation remains at the 2-5% mark.


ICON’s chief operating officer Dr Steve Cutler said: “Recruiting the required number of patients for clinical trials is a constant challenge for our customers and can represent more than 30% of total study costs.


“By applying IBM Watson to our clinical trials, we have the potential to revolutionise clinical trial feasibility, patient recruitment and study start-up timelines which will help our customers take significant time and cost from their development programmes.”


Under its deal with ICON, IBM’s Watson Health Cloud will enable the CRO to access de-identified patient data, including the 50 million patient records from Explorys, which IBM acquired in April.


Source PMLive http://www.pmlive.com/blogs/digital_intelligence/archive/2015/october/ibm_teams_up_with_teva_for_global_ehealth_collaboration_832751








IBM teams up with Teva for global eHealth collaboration

Friday 25 September 2015

Google to expand its health information role

Will add at-a-glance details on hundreds more health conditions







Google health information search


Google is set to expand the health applications of its ‘knowledge graph’ by providing at-a-glance details on hundreds more conditions.


For a company whose health focus has been increasingly associated with tangible technology of late, it’s a sign that it’s not ignoring its efforts in health information.


The search giant first started providing treatment and symptom information – applying the ‘semantic search’ capabilities of its knowledge graph – directly into its health search results pages in February, but will now ramp up its efforts.


The number of conditions included will soon be doubled, with over 900 in total covered by information on areas such as their symptoms, treatments and prevalence.


In addition to this Google will also provide a ‘download PDF’ link to help patients take the information to their doctor, something – Google said – has been a top request from doctors themselves.


Google product manager Prem Ramaswami wrote in a blog: “Health conditions continue to be among the most important things people ask Google about, and one of our most popular features.


“As before, we’ve consulted and worked closely with a team of doctors to curate and validate this information. We’ve gotten lots of positive, helpful feedback from our users and medical professionals, and we’ll keep working to bring useful health information to your fingertips.


The feature is still only provided in US English, but Ramaswami said Google plans to expand it to more languages and regions.


As part of the changes Google will also tweak the way the service works, making visual design improvements and more specific triggering to speed the journey from search to information.


The company made a point of noting that neglected tropic diseases would be included – information on Dengue Fever is already included and Chikungunya and Leishmaniases will join it soon.


The expansion appears to have been prompted by an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in New York early last month, when searches for the disease shot up, and Google quickly updated the health conditions feature to provide information on Legionnaires’ right up front, from a simple search.


The move is unlikely to overshadow Google initiatives such as its smart contact lens technology, robotic surgery, diabetes tools, wearable health tracker or robotic pill, but it’s a timely reminder of day-to-day utility of ‘Dr Google’.


Source PMLive http://www.pmlive.com/blogs/digital_intelligence/archive/2015/september/google_to_expand_its_health_information_role_828148








Google to expand its health information role

Tuesday 8 September 2015

Kent NHS 'to send surgery patients to France'










NHS patients in Kent could soon be travelling to France for surgery under a new deal being finalised.




Centre Hospitalier de CalaisCentre Hospitalier de Calais hopes to see the first UK patients before Christmas

Centre Hospitalier de Calais has bid to provide services to patients in the county, NHS commissioners said.


South Kent Coast Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) said the “finer details” were being worked out.


People who chose to have treatment in France would pay for their own travel and incidental costs. Unison said it was an “admission of failure”.


Hazel Carpenter, chief accountable officer for South Kent CCG, said treatment in France would be an option if a patient wanted it, in discussion with their GP.





She said commissioners recently invited organisations to provide general surgery, gynaecology, cataract surgery, pain management and orthopaedics to apply for the work, and two French providers applied as well as several English providers.


“We carried out a careful assessment of the services they offer and are visiting sites,” she added.


“The two French providers, among others, fulfilled our criteria and we expect to finalise a contract with them.”



Map of Kent and Calais

Analysis: Mark Norman, BBC South East Today Health Correspondent


The devil is in the detail here. It seems a good idea to use spare capacity in France for NHS patients waiting for general surgery, but…


Both the French hospital and the NHS say Calais clinicians will share patient information with NHS GPs but the hospital director in Calais was unsure how that would work in practice


While the NHS has said post-operative checkups could be done in France or via Skype it remains to be seen if patients will be prepared to travel or use the technology available.


What happens if something goes wrong? – 24-hour access to the surgical team sounds great but will sick patients have to cross the Channel?


And it’s the NHS who will have to pay for their care after a month.


Meanwhile, the East Kent Hospitals Trust, already in special measures and struggling financially, could now lose the income from up to 300 patient operations a year.


The French hospital hopes to see the first UK patients before Christmas and plans to treat between 300 and 400 NHS patients per annum.



Martin Trelcat, general manager of the Calais hospital, said it had been giving English classes to about 70 nurses and language would not be a barrier.


Simon Bolton, Unison spokesman, said it was “an admission of failure” by the NHS.


He said the CCG had failed to make sure the NHS could tackle waiting lists, which he said were lengthening because of government cuts.


Adding that patients wanted to be treated as quickly and as close to home as possible, he said: “The idea that this is some great consumer choice is frankly crazy.”


Damian Collins, Folkestone and Hythe MP, said it was sensible to use a fantastic hospital that might be less than an hour away from some and more accessible than hospitals in London.


He said using Calais would help deal with NHS overcrowding and added: “If this deal hadn’t been struck, I’m sure we’d have had people coming to us saying there’s capacity in the hospital in Calais.”


‘Comparable costs’


A spokeswoman for the NHS South East Commissioning Support Unit said the deal was not a waiting list initiative but rather about following EU competition rules which gave patients more choice.


She said French providers would operate like other NHS referrals where GPs would share patient information and also receive discharge and care plan details after the treatment.


French and English providers were bound by the Data Protection Act with regard to patient records, she added.


Providers would give patients 24-hour access to the surgical team for two weeks after treatment, and would pay for any readmission to hospital within 30 days of discharge.


And follow-up checks after surgery could be done by phone or Skype or at another visit to the hospital, she said.


She said the cost and distances of choosing a London or French hospital were easily comparable.


Source BBC News/Health http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-34171683













Kent NHS 'to send surgery patients to France'

Monday 7 September 2015

Taking the lab approach to enabling innovation in healthcare – Dr Harpreet Sood

The Senior Fellow to the Chair and Chief Executive’s Office of NHS England explains how cutting edge ideas can be turned into reality:


nhsengland_logo





The notion of being bound by only what we know, and the confines of traditional thinking, are a deterrent to real and meaningful innovation.The concept of innovation labs or innovation hubs have been the powerhouse of the creative and design breakthrough in the private sector – but the health research and service delivery field continues to apply 20th century approaches to solve 21st century challenges.

At the Health and Care Innovation Expo 2015 this week, the energy and enthusiasm was evident that healthcare professionals from across the country want to get involved with initiatives that allow them to innovate. However, what inhibits their disruptive thinking and ambition is the lack of a conducive system and infrastructure.


Additionally, healthcare remains a silo operated industry with the NHS lacking a viable demand for innovation.


For this to change we need to encourage more cross fertilisation of ideas – both within the NHS, which is lacking due to the fragmentation of the system, as well as with people from outside healthcare – designers, developers, engineers, scientists and business people to name a few.


This will ensure fresh perspectives are brought to the table and can contribute towards the development of sustainable and realistic solutions.


A potential solution for encouraging innovation and out-of-the-box thinking is to develop innovation labs to help healthcare professionals ideate, implement and execute with resources provided at each point of the innovation value chain to overcome barriers.


These labs, which can take the form of a specialised physical environment or a virtual hub, can be operated from within hospitals or GP federations.


The labs have dedicated resources for innovation and are responsible for developing, conducting rapid prototypes and maturing ideas from frontline staff by hand-holding and guiding them through the innovation journey.


Ideas can be chosen via competitions or by identifying high level themes that need addressing. Through the networks the lab can develop, it can allow one to draw on diverse perspectives from across and within the system.


This method has a twofold benefit: Firstly, providers benefit from the innovation in-house and develop a culture that encourages unique perspectives to solving common challenges. By being engaged in the innovation process from the start, staff and patients develop a greater sense of ownership over the solution and, therefore, a greater tendency to use the solution.


Secondly, when the innovation gains traction and matures, it can provide an extra source of revenue through commercialising or licensing the product, and the tech transfer offices at Academic Health Science Networks (AHSNs) can play an important role in realising this.


There are examples of labs dotted across the world such as the MindLab in Denmark or the Harvard Innovation Lab in Boston but many have a limited healthcare focus. In the US, an increasing number of the large academic medical centres have now created their own innovation labs such as Garfield Center at Kaiser Permanente and the iHub at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.


These programs allow large organisations to capitalise on the human capital that exists in their organisations and help employees be more engaged in innovation.


We are starting to see the emergence of this approach in the UK with innovation organisations such as Nesta as well as provider-led organisations such as the HELIX at Imperial College London that work closely with Imperial College NHS Trust.


These organisations are examples of how with dedicated resources, the skills gap of ideation, execution and re-engineering can be bridged, which is a key component of an innovation lab. With these organisations, solutions are co-developed with providers as partnerships are established at a very early stage.


Taking ideas to the next stage and into fully-fledged products and services beyond prototypes requires not only dedicated resource and expertise, but also time. Previous innovation incubators have had mixed responses in terms of success but we need to get the balance right between recognition and reward through both financial and non-financial incentives.


Innovating in one’s spare time and on the ‘margin’ does not have the same effect. The launch of the ‘Clinical Entrepreneur’ scheme by Professor Bruce Keogh at NHS Expo is an excellent initiative and example of where there is protected time for clinicians to focus on innovation.


We are at the intersection of disruption and integrated health systems and providers can make innovation more of an in-house process. By combining the lab approach principles with the dedicated time for employees can be an enabler for innovation and also help remove the silos and segregation that exist within organisations. We just need the leadership to help facilitate this. 



Image of Senior Fellow, to the Chairman and Chief Executive’s Office of NHS EnglandDr Harpreet Sood, is currently Senior Fellow, to the Chairman and Chief Executive’s Office of NHS England.


Harpreet trained as a clinical doctor at King’s College London and Imperial College Business School and practiced as an academic trainee in East London.


Following this he did a Masters in Public Health (MPH) at Harvard University where he focused on international health policy and co-founded a digital health start-up.


Post MPH, Harpreet was a Deland Fellow in health policy and management at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a large academic medical centre in Boston.


Harpreet’s portfolio of work at NHS England includes implementing the National Diabetes Prevention Programme.


Source NHS England http://www.england.nhs.uk/2015/09/04/harpreet-sood/






Taking the lab approach to enabling innovation in healthcare – Dr Harpreet Sood

Friday 4 September 2015

GP access a top priority for NHS

GP access will be a touchstone for demonstrating how the NHS is doing in the future. That’s the view of Ros Roughton, Director of NHS Commissioning, who today outlined the future for seven day services and primary care.


expo-2





Speaking at the Health and Care Innovation Expo 2015 in Manchester, Ros explored the challenges facing GPs in delivering the services they want to provide, what is being done nationally to support them and how we will access GPs services in the future.“We know GPs are under immense pressure.  The level of investment in the NHS has not been matched in terms of investment in primary care. There is variation in quality of care, and despite high levels of satisfaction, we have seen a drop in access.

“But work is underway to respond to these challenges.  We’ve increased funding allocations for primary care, we have workforce initiatives underway, there is £200 million worth of Prime Minister’s Challenge schemes in train and we have just announced a new occupational health service to support GPs.


“Currently GPs are doing things that other professionals can be doing.  It’s about using nurses, pharmacists and other professionals to take the pressure off GPs.


“It’s also about large scale collaboration, but in a way that makes sense to the local population and staff. It’s about extending hours, but while also taking into consideration local demand, which may differ according to demographic or rurality.”


The audience heard from Chris Jones, Clinical Lead, West Wakefield Health and Wellbeing and Jim O’Donnell, Chair, Slough CCG, who gave examples of innovative approaches have been applied in their local areas and how they are working in practice.


Dr Chaand Nagpal of the BMA emphasised the need to change the way we define access to understand that it is about providing the right care at the right time for patients in a range of ways.


Ros Roughton said, “To continue this work there are three key enablers which are essential. Technology is the first, and that means not only making the most of technology, but also using it to ensure we handle data efficiently and safely.


“Workforce is the second, so that we can increase our capacity as well as develop new skill mix models.


“Finally we need proper development support. In the same way that resources have been provided to support hospitals in tackling waiting times, we need to consider the support needed to transform GP access for the future.”


Source NHS England http://www.england.nhs.uk/2015/09/04/gp-access/






GP access a top priority for NHS

Thursday 3 September 2015

NHS can be the home of the Innovation Revolution

The NHS has the opportunity to become the “go-to place for innovations”.


NHS En





That is the view of Sir Bruce Keogh, NHS England’s National Medical Director, who today refuted any suggestion that the health service is slow to embrace or develop innovations, but did concede that ii is often too slow to exploit them.

Sir Bruce was speaking during a panel debate at the Health and Innovation Expo 2015 in Manchester, which explored how innovation can be spread across the NHS.


The NHS Innovation Accelerator programme was launched in January by Simon Stevens and Sir Bruce, and is a partnership between NHS England, the Health Foundation and the Academic Health and Science Networks (AHSNs).


It aims to speed up the adoption of new innovations – both inventions and new ways of working – for the benefit of patients and the wider population by supporting individuals with a high-impact innovation and a willingness to spread their learning through collaboration.


Around 140 innovators applied for the scheme, with the 17 chosen so far announced in July.


Sir Bruce Keogh said: “There’s been a lot of debate about our NHS, but one of the things often levelled at us is why we are so slow to embrace innovations. I don’t accept the argument that we don’t develop innovations, but I do accept that we are often too slow to exploit them. We have an opportunity in our NHS to be the go-to place in innovations.”


To demonstrate the kind of innovation which can have a big impact on health, Francis White, EU General Manager of AliveCor and NIA Fellow, showed the audience a device which fits to the back of a smartphone, turning it into a medical-grade ECG monitor, allowing patients to see whether they are in atrial fibrillation. And he discussed BrushDJ, a product which encourages children to brush their teeth for two minutes in an effort to reduce their need for dental care.


Dr Matt Jameson, Co-Founder of Health Unlocked and NIA Fellow, explained what the programme means to innovators in getting their ideas and inventions into use: “The NIA programme offers us the chance to take a risk that we wouldn’t otherwise take, without it we would have to go to patients direct.”


Dr Mahiben Maruthappu, Co-founder of the NHS Innovation Accelerator, said: “Some parts of the NHS are operating in the Digital Age, but other parts are operating in the Stone Age; those parts need to get real about innovation.”


Dr Liz Mear, CEO of North West Coast AHSN and national co-lead for Patient Safety Collaboratives, outlined the role that AHSNs can play in supporting innovation, saying: “Working with AHSNs can help innovators open doors to the NHS.


“Innovators should also be flexible in how they respond to what NHS organisations and service users actually tell them they want and need from them.”


Sir Bruce, discussing the barriers to innovations being taken up in the NHS added: “In the private sector, when you face financial pressures you refocus, and find out exactly what your customers want but we don’t do that well enough in the NHS. It can also often be tribal when the going gets tough – different organisations and groups fighting for their own interests rather than solving problems together.”


Summing up the session after questions from the audience, Professor Donal O’Donaghue, Medical Director of Greater Manchester AHSN and an NIA Mentor, said: “The key challenge we face is how we expand what we’re doing here from 17 innovators, to 170, to 170,000.


“This programme is just the start of a journey which is fundamentally important for our NHS.”


Source http://www.england.nhs.uk/expo/2015/09/02/innovation/






NHS can be the home of the Innovation Revolution

Wednesday 2 September 2015

Sanofi and Google partner on digital health in diabetes

Aim to develop new patient tools by harnessing data and miniaturised tech







Google headquarters


Sanofi has teamed up with Google’s life sciences team to develop a new range of digital health tools for patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes.


The firms plan to do this by harnessing data and miniaturised technology, in the process moving from ‘episodic, event-driven diabetes care’ towards ‘continuous, value-based care’.


Olivier Brandicourt, Sanofi’s chief executive officer, said: “As a global leader in diabetes care, we have both an obligation and a commitment to provide integrated solutions for people living with diabetes.


“This initiative combines Sanofi’s strength and knowledge in diabetes with Google’s leadership in technology and analytics to create a first-of-its-kind initiative with the potential to transform diabetes care.”


Sanofi, whose Lantus (insulin glargine) was the world’s fifth best-selling drug last year, will tap into Google’s expertise in analytics, miniaturised electronics and low power chip design.


Together they plan to develop new tools that bring together combine data on blood glucose and hemoglobin A1c levels with patient-reported information, medication regimen data and sensor devices.


Andy Conrad, CEO of the life sciences team at Google, said: “With new technologies emerging to provide a more continuous and real-time view of a patient’s health, we can see the promise for more proactive and effective ways to control diabetes.


“Together with Sanofi, we believe diabetes management can be simpler and more convenient, which may help patients achieve an improved quality of life.”


The collaboration will also see the companies partner with Boston’s Joslin Diabetes Center. Its president and CEO John Brooks III said: “Technology, sensors, analytics, and digital solutions will revolutionise how blood sugars are managed, which will deliver improved quality of life, lowering the risk of complications and reducing the costs and barriers associated with diabetes care. Ultimately, I truly hope we’re able to turn the Joslin Diabetes Center into a museum.”


The collaboration is the first major health move from Google since its operations were restructured with the creation of new holding company Alphabet and greater independence handed to its healthcare operations.


It also ramps up Google’s focus on diabetes, following its deal with Novartis for glucose-sensing contact lens and recent agreement with DexCom to develop a new range of continuous glucose-monitoring products.


Source PMLive http://www.pmlive.com/blogs/digital_intelligence/archive/2015/september/sanofi_and_google_partner_on_digital_health_in_diabetes_810702








Sanofi and Google partner on digital health in diabetes