Men 'catching up' on life expectancy

Men are narrowing the gap on women when it comes to life expectancy in England and Wales, research in the Lancet indicates.

It predicts by 2030 men will be living 85.7 years on average – just two fewer than women.

In 1981 men lagged behind women by six years.

Though life expectancy is improving for both sexes, it comes at the cost of widening inequalities between deprived and affluent areas, researchers say.

The researchers, from Imperial College London, predict by 2030 men will be living 2.4 years longer than official estimates from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) suggest. And women gain an extra year.

Unlike ONS calculations, their methods put greater focus on improvements in lifespan over the past few years and make less pessimistic assumptions about the future.

‘Wealthy gains’

And while the ONS takes a more national approach, they collated death rates from 375 local authorities across England and Wales.

This is key as local authorities now take greater responsibility for planning health and social care services, they say.

Their main findings suggest many regional variations, including:

• In 2012 figures are lowest in Blackpool. Men there could expect to live to 75.3 years – eight years fewer than men in the City of London


• Women in Manchester fared worst, at 80.2 years – three years fewer than those living in the City of London – which has the highest 2012 figures overall


• Looking ahead to 2030, life expectancy will reach or go beyond 81.4 years for men and 84.5 years for women in all areas


• But men in Blackpool will still have the lowest predictions – 81.4 years, compared with 90.7 in the City of London, which again tops the list

The new analysis did not cover Scotland, but government data suggests 76.8 years for males and 80.9 years for females.

If their predictions prove correct, they say pension pots would have larger payouts than currently planned.

Greater investments would also be needed in health and social care, they warn.

Prof Majid Ezzati, lead researcher said: “We forecast rising inequalities, with bigger increases in lifespan for people in affluent areas than those in disadvantaged areas.

“This means wealthy people will benefit more from health and social services than poor people.”

Brian Beach, at the International Longevity Centre think tank, said: “The methods used look very solid and innovative.

“It has been known for some time that life expectancy can be influenced by social factors and where people live.”

Healthy ageing

But he suggested other research went against assumptions that rising life expectancy lead to greater dependence on public services.

“Some would argue years of healthy life are increasing,” he said.

“A 60-year-old living 100 years ago would have been considered a very frail person.

“But nowadays they might be viewed as middle-aged, living healthy and happy lives.”

The ONS said figures would differ depending on the methods and assumptions used.

A representative added: “There is no clear consensus among academics around the likely speed of future mortality improvements among men and women.

“All future projections are uncertain, hence ONS publishes variant projections to illustrate some of this uncertainty and help those planning public services.”

And Prof Sir Michael Marmot, an expert at population health at University College London, said: “Prediction is just that: prediction.

“Changes in social policy, for example, could mean that actual life expectancy in 2030 could be bigger or smaller than these predicted gains.”

Source BBC Health http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-32512343

Men 'catching up' on life expectancy

Royal College of Physicains - Medical apps need CE mark

Doctors should only use medical apps with an official CE mark, new guidance from the Royal College of Physicians says.

The guidance, produced in consultation with the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency and the General Medical Council, applies to medical apps that can be classed as medical devices, which are bound by EU law to carry the mark.

The RCP says an app is classed as a medical device if it is used to “diagnose, support diagnosis or clinical decision, make calculations to determine diagnosis or treatment, or are used for any medical purpose”.

“If you are using an app that should have a CE mark but it is missing, then you are leaving yourself open to problems and possible litigation,” the guidance says.

Despite the prevalence of medical apps, it’s unclear how many have a CE mark.

Jeremy Wyatt, the RCP’s lead on new technologies, told EHI News he was aware of just one – the Mersey Burns app that advises doctors on the fluid requirements of burns victims based on the level of skin damage.

The app, which was a winner at the EHI Awards 2013, received a CE mark in 2011 and remains one of the most well-known medical apps in the country.

However, some other apps have since received the CE mark. These include AliveCor’s app to detect atrial fibrillation; AirStrip Technology’s suite of monitoring tools; and Sanofi’s iBG Star app to monitor blood glucose in people with diabetes.

Wyatt added that physicians shouldn’t just pay attention to whether an app has a CE mark, but should do further research to ensure the app they are using is accurate and has benefits in clinical use.

He said that further work needs to be done in the area and mentioned the prospect of using randomised clinical trials to support the use of medical apps.

“The RCP is not against apps at all. We are optimistic about them being a positive and important tool in healthcare,” said Wyatt, who last year co-wrote a paper on the need to develop a risk assessment model for medical apps.

The definition provided by the RCP means that the many health and wellbeing apps currently in use that do not provide personalised advice would not fall under the category of medical apps.

These types of apps include ones with administrative functions, such as booking appointments; apps that provide general guidance or support training; and apps that are not marketed as medical apps but can be used in medical situations, such as a calculator.

The use of apps in healthcare has become a point of contention since the rise of the smartphone, with a recent article in the BMJ featuring a comment from GP Des Spence who said that most were “untested and unscientific”.

This view was contrasted in the same article by Iltifat Husain, editor of healthcare app review website iMedicalApps.com and assistant professor of emergency medicine, who said the healthcare profession risks being “left behind” if it waits for studies to prove the benefits of apps.

The Department of Health is attempting to address the growing interest in healthcare apps with its Personalised Health and Care Framework 2020 also outlining plans to introduce an endorsement model for apps recommended by the NHS, with proposals on the process to be published in June,

The British Standards Institution, one of the UK’s notified bodies for medical devices, has also said it plans to publish guidelines on the development of healthcare apps this month.

The CE mark is an indicator that shows a product complies with EU safety, health and environmental requirements.

The guidance says: “A CE mark is the assurance that an app meets essential criteria, works and should be clinically safe (rather like an MOT for a care in the UK).”

Source EHI 29 April 2015   Thomas Meek http://www.ehi.co.uk/news/EHI/10004/medical-apps-need-ce-mark—rcp

Royal College of Physicains - Medical apps need CE mark

HIV home test kit goes on sale in UK

The first legally approved HIV self-test kit that allows people to get a result in 15 minutes at home has gone on sale in England, Scotland and Wales.

Unlike other kits, these tests do not need to be sent off to a lab to get the results.

It works by detecting antibodies on a small drop of blood, which are often only detectable three months after the infection is caught.

Experts warn that any positive tests must be reconfirmed at clinics.

Charities hope it will reduce some of the 26,000 people estimated to have undiagnosed HIV in the UK.

Testing lines

An early diagnosis allows people to get treatment quickly and can prevent serious complications. And individuals successfully treated for HIV are less likely to pass the infection on.

This new “do-it-yourself” test is made by company Bio Sure UK and can be bought online.

It works in a similar way to a pregnancy test, measuring levels of antibodies – proteins made in response to the virus – in a person’s blood.

The device analyses a small droplet of blood, taken from the finger-tip using a lancet. Two purple lines appear if it is positive.

The company recommends attending sexual health clinics for advice and further blood tests if both lines appear.

And even if the test is negative experts say it does not mean people are definitely virus free – especially if exposure occurred within the last three months.

The three-month window period, between the moment someone catches the infection and the time it can take for antibodies to develop, means the kit is not reliable during this time.

Quick access

Charities have welcomed the test and hope it will encourage more people to get checks – particularly those reluctant to go to clinics in the first instance.

Dr Rosemary Gillespie, chief executive at Terrence Higgins Trust, said: “We campaigned for a long time to secure the legalisation of HIV self-test kits which happened in April 2014, so it is great to see the first self-test kits being approved.

“However, it is important to make sure people can get quick access to support when they get their result.”

Shaun Griffin, also at the charity, said: “At the moment there are funding challenges throughout the NHS, including for sexual health services.

“It is absolutely critical that people have access to HIV tests and advice they need.”

Free HIV tests are available across the NHS.

In Northern Ireland ministers are considering legal changes to allow the sale of home testing kits.

Source BBC Health http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-32453192

HIV home test kit goes on sale in UK

Making a difference with mobile health

When it comes to pharma’s work with mobile health (mHealth) technologies, Sanofi’s work within diabetes has established the company as one of the front-runners.

Its GoMeals healthy eating iPhone app, released in 2009, was one of the first pharma attempts to harness the then-still-nascent power of Apple’s smartphone. Another standout initiative from the company was the iBGStar, an iPhone-compatible device that launched three years ago. The first blood glucose monitor to sync with the iPhone and iPod Touch, it was also the first to allow users to input their own data and notes via a specially designed app.

Continuing this trend, the company last month joined a World Health Organization (WHO)-backed mobile health partnership called ‘Be Healthy, Be Mobile’ becoming the sole pharmaceutical partner for its diabetes arm.

Pierre Chancel, senior VP of Sanofi’s global diabetes division, explained: “Our vision for the development of diabetes is really about making sure that people have better health, better access and better lives.

“This epidemic is skyrocketing and the vast majority of people that desperately need [their diabetes] to be managed or taken in charge are in emerging countries. Two-thirds of people living with diabetes are undiagnosed and the one third of treated patients are out of control.

“The most promising, most pragmatic channel to reach them is, indeed, this mobile health technology.”

mDiabetes

Be Healthy, Be Mobile covers a number of therapy areas and is led by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in collaboration with the WHO. It focuses on ways to harness mobile technologies to improve the prevention and treatment of non-communicable diseases like diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular and chronic respiratory diseases, in low- and middle-income countries.

The initial phases of the partnership’s mDiabetes programme are taking place in Senegal, where a pilot that ran for the month of Ramadan saw some 80,000 SMS messages sent to approximately 3,500 participants to help patients with diabetes manage their disease. This was followed up by a six-week phase that ran until January 2015 and involved further one-way SMS messaging, with texts send roughly once-a-day.

Senegal is an interesting choice for the pilot. In common with many African countries mobile phones play a particularly important role and in the last year mobile penetration in Senegal reached the 100% mark. “When you look at the number of cell phones, mobile phones that are already existing in these geographies,” Chancel said, adding: “this is the channel to be used in trying to help people living with diabetes.”

A new model of healthcare

Sanofi’s senior medical officer and vice president of global medical affairs for its diabetes division Riccardo Perfetti added: “Managing chronic diseases presents problems that are very different from the way healthcare systems worldwide were established for.

“Diabetes is going to be the example, the experiment in public health that is going to prove that that model needs to be integrated with other means to provide three different components, diagnosis, education and management that otherwise would not be accessible just because of the dimension of the disease.

“One of [our] approaches [is] to be a little bit more pragmatic and understand that the numbers of the disease cannot be addressed by the existing model.”

The mDiabetes initiative is, Perfetti said, “a very tangible and rational way to get closer to patients”. He continued: “So to have devices that may help them to diagnose the disease or tell them what they are doing is sufficient is a critical step.”

This is the channel to be used in trying to help people living with diabetes- Pierre Chancel, Sanofi

Changing behaviour

Patients were recruited to take part in the Be Healthy, Be Mobile’s mDiabetes initiative through patient groups or their physician, after which they would be asked to give their consent to receiving the SMS messages.

With Sanofi onboard the next phase of initiative will involve ‘two-way’ SMS messaging, offering reminders to patients on topics such as their blood glucose levels and food intake.

The ‘two-way’ part of the initiative will see patients receiving messages such as ‘have you thought about monitoring your glucose’, and it could also focus on lifestyle habits and eating habits.

“In this area, so many things can be done, but the only thing that counts concrete initiatives, that start, that have a beginning and that have an end,” said Chancel. “So that’s where we can get key learnings that can then be developed in order to realise an impact.”

While the pilot and first phases of the initiative were based only on SMS reminders, the second phase – which Chancel told PME is due to commence this month – will be looking to incorporate some mobile app technology.

On Sanofi’s plans for this part of the programme Perfetti added: “Clinically, we’ll need to be a little bit more ambitious [with the second phase], because if the objective of phase II or step II is really to change behaviour, we really need to collect that [data], so it will need to be a little longer.”

Although this second phase of the initiative will again take place in Senegal, Sanofi’s ambitions for this work aren’t limited to just one country. “The objective of all of this will be to build something that could be scalable, and this is the whole spirit of the initiative,” Perfetti explained.

“Among the countries we’re considering as expansion, Tunisia and the Philippines are some of the countries where this may be a modifier of the way diabetes is managed,” he added.

As to whether Sanofi will bring its mDiabetes initiative to Europe and other large markets eventually, Perfetti said that was also a possibility, with some modifications to account for the region’s different technological habits.

“Europe and the US, in terms of familiarity of people with technology, are a little bit more advanced. Perhaps it will need to be tailored to meet the expectation of those countries. But the principle of providing information in an innovative way is still valid.”

Source PMLive http://www.pmlive.com/blogs/digital_intelligence/archive/2015/april/making_a_difference_with_mobile_health_677707

Making a difference with mobile health

NHS Choices aims to aggregate

NHS Choices plans to become an aggregator platform for a more integrated system of NHS services, its head of business development has said.

“What we see is NHS Choices becoming less of an encyclopaedic site and more of an integrated path that is part of the NHS journey,” explained Owain Davies at the Tech4Health event in London on Wednesday.

“The NHS journey can go online or offline as appropriate and we can be an aggregator of those things.

“There are already doctor’s surgeries doing video conference appointments and we are adding integration for those areas. We’ve had symptom checkers for 10 years and we have done online prescribing. We are not going into this new.”

NHS Choices is the leading provider for information on health services and conditions in the UK, passing one billion page views since its launch in 2007.

To capitalise on the site’s popularity there are plans to expand its remit. The Personalised Health and Care Framework 2020 envisages the site integrating with NHS 111, the non-emergency care telephone service, to “create a seamless public information service”.

Proposals for how this will be done are due to be published by September.

PHaC 2020 keeps NHS Choices at the forefront of patient access to information by including plans to allow people to view their care records and to use the My NHS service to view performance details of NHS organisations.

At Wednesday’s event, Davies commented on the prospect of competition from the private sector for NHS Choices.

“We have some advantages that others don’t have in that we have the data from the NHS and we have access to NHS services. But our aim is not to do anything the private sector could do better,” he said.

“The objective is we do things only the NHS can do, and if someone has built it let’s not try and reinvent something that someone has already done well.”

Source 24 April 2015   Thomas Meek EHI http://www.ehi.co.uk/news/EHI/9997/nhs-choices-aims-to-aggregate

NHS Choices aims to aggregate

Pharma growing its use of social media - report

New data also highlights who leads the way in integrated social media marketing

Pharma’s corporate participation in social media is rapidly evolving with a small contingent of companies looking to take its digital activities further.

This is according to a new report published by Ogilvy Healthworld, part of Ogilvy CommonHealth Worldwide.

The report Connecting the dots: Which Pharma Companies are Succeeding in the Social Media Space?, is the first of its kind to provide insights into which pharma companies are leading the way in integrated social media marketing strategies.

It reveals a small group of companies are ‘connecting the dots’ and leading the way in social media by providing useful content that is both relevant to their marketing objectives and audience needs.

They are also engaging with consumers, healthcare professionals and media consistently on all of their networks in a way that encourages followers to contribute to the conversation, according to the authors.

Unsurprisingly Boehringer Ingelheim, the first pharma firm to fully engage with social media and the concept of digital health, was seen by the report as being the leader in this regard.

Bayer, Novartis, J&J and Merck also performed well, the report noted, but singled out other firms as needing to catch up.

This includes GlaxoSmithKline, Novo Nordisk and Roche with Bristol-Myers Squibb, Lilly, Sanofi, AstraZeneca and Pfizer’s social communities earning the companies the lowest scores from the report’s authors.

Ogilvy’s report also draws some conclusions on social media best practice and says that in order to succeed, pharma companies “need to be brave and prepared to have honest and meaningful conversations about their brands”.

This involves developing strategies and mapping out potential scenarios with internal stakeholders to respond as quickly as possible to their followers.

They should in addition aim to provide content that is relevant to their audience also have a clear set of engagement guidelines to help manage difficult questions.

Key findings from the report include:

·         The average number of tweets by pharma has gone up by 530% since 2013 and Twitter followers have increased by nearly 300%

·         The pharma companies with the biggest communities aren’t necessarily the most effective at engaging with their users and generating interest

·         Followers reward pharma companies who post frequently and engage continuously – those that keep their networks fresh with regular updates have the highest interaction from the community.

Rebecca Canvin, social media manager at Ogilvy Healthworld, said: “We know that some pharma companies have been cautious in their approach to social media, but our report clearly demonstrates a dramatic and successful increase in activity.

“Social media has changed the way pharma companies communicate – it allows them to build corporate reputation and engage in genuine, meaningful conversations with audiences. For companies who want to stand out from the crowd it’s time to be brave, get personal, educate and integrate social media into their wider marketing strategy.”

The data for the report was gathered by monitoring 10 of the most popular networks for 14 pharma companies across six categories: social presence, social network, community size, activity, engagement and activity.

The profile of each company was reviewed for one week per month for three months during 2014 to ensure sufficient data was collected.

Source PMLive http://www.pmlive.com/pharma_news/pharma_growing_its_use_of_social_media_-_report_717918

Pharma growing its use of social media - report

Millennials unfazed by paid for content

New study finds that young adults will use adverts as key sources of information

 

Just over half of UK adults aged 18-33 will visit online content that appeals to them – even if it is clearly an advert, according to a new study.

This figure rises to 63% when just looking at younger adults aged 18-24 year olds.

The data, which has been collated by Adblock Plus, came from a survey of 1,000 people and found that written feature articles are the type of paid-for online content that most adults prefer to see, (32% of users), followed by list-based articles, (24%) and videos, (17%).

Ben Williams, head of operations at Adblock Plus, said: “What this survey demonstrates is that millenials are interested in online ads so long as they are served non-intrusively. Online users want good content – content that is interesting to them – and they are just as interested when this content is paid-for, so long as they feel in control.

“Online consumers, especially millennials, are becoming increasingly aware of the differences between editorial and paid-for online content, and because of this, transparency in online advertising is more important than ever.

“Users don’t want to feel manipulated or deceived by advertising when they are online, and are much more likely to be open to advertising if they are not. If users are presented with ads that do not intrude upon their experience and these are clearly labelled as sponsored, users are showing us that they don’t mind it being there.

“Advertisers need to take this change on board and focus more on open and interesting content – ads that their users will actually want to click on — rather than intrusive and invasive ones.

Source PMLive http://www.pmlive.com/pharma_news/millennials_unfazed_by_paid_for_content_713216

Millennials unfazed by paid for content

AstraZeneca and PatientsLikeMe team up on real-world data

Two groups hoping to harness the power of the patient forum network

 

PatientsLikeMe has recruited AstraZeneca as its latest big pharma client as the two sign a new five-year agreement. 

Under the terms of the deal, AstraZeneca will use patient-reported data from PatientsLikeMe to help future its medicine development and help improve outcomes, with an initial focus on respiratory disease, lupus, diabetes and oncology.

Briggs Morrison, EVP of global medicines development at AstraZeneca, said: “Understanding what patients are experiencing every day and how they define the value of their treatments are fundamental to our ability to push the boundaries of science in developing the next-generation of medicines.”

“Our partnership with PatientsLikeMe will help us to harness the important perspectives of patients through their advanced technology and real-world, real-time evidence to support our research and development programmes.”

The agreement is the latest in a string of big pharma firms to sign up to PatientsLikeMe‘s global network, which currently include Roche, Merck & Co, UCB, Actelion, Boehringer, Sanofi and Novartis.

The group is essentially a forum for patients to openly discuss issues with their conditions with other patients, which can include everything from drug adherence and side effects to worries over healthcare costs and pain management.

All of these firms signing up to this platform develop drugs for the diseases and conditions that patients are discussing on the forum. The site allows firms a unique way of harnessing real-world data by gleaning information from these patients, and using it to create the next generation of drugs.

This type of website interface can develop into a goldmine for pharma firms, as it affords them an in-depth look into the patient population of a treatment, something it cannot easily attain anywhere else.

Ed Godber, EVP of Life Sciences Ventures, said the wide-ranging collaboration with AstraZeneca also marks a ‘significant step’ in realising PatientsLikeMe’s mission to make patients ‘partners in science’.

“It’s rare to find a partner so committed to listening to and integrating the patient voice into the heart of its scientific development and operations. We’re excited to work together to transform the discovery and healthcare model and develop products and services tailored to what patients experience and truly need,” Godber said.

Source PMLive http://www.pmlive.com/pharma_news/astrazeneca_and_patientslikeme_team_up_on_real-world_data_711748

AstraZeneca and PatientsLikeMe team up on real-world data

IBM sets up Watson health unit to advance its data ambitions

Will also partner with Apple, J&J and Medtronic and acquire two big data companies

Pictured: Leanne LeBlanc, IBM Watson project manager, views analytics of healthcare data at Watson headquarters in New York City

IBM has forged ahead with its health ambitions, setting up a dedicated health unit based around supercomputer Watson and signing development deals with the likes of Johnson & Johnson and Apple.

The company will base its new IBM Watson Health unit around Boston in the US and expand its existing Watson presence in New York. All told the company says at least 2000 consultants, medical practitioners, clinicians, developers and researchers will be involved in designing and developing Watson Health capabilities.

Watson, which famously beat human contestants on the US game show Jeopardy two years ago, can digest huge amounts of information in a similar way to how people think – a process known as cognitive computing.

Michael Rhodin, senior vice president at IBM Watson, said: “Watson Health builds on years of collaborative relationships with leaders across the healthcare ecosystem.

“The groundbreaking applications of Watson’s cognitive computing capabilities by medical clients and partners clearly demonstrated the potential to fundamentally change the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of healthcare delivery worldwide.”

At the heart of the IT firm’s moves is its new Watson Health Cloud platform, which will says will offer “secure access to individualised insights and a more complete picture of the many factors that can affect people’s health”.

IBM wants to offer a way of tapping into, and analysing, the huge amounts of healthcare information that patients, healthcare professionals and researchers now generate.

Apple, Johnson & Johnson and Medtronic deals

As part of IBM’s big data mission it also announced three headline-grabbing collaborations with Apple, Johnson & Johnson and Medtronic to create new health tools and services based on information collected from personal health, medical and fitness devices.

IBM will expand its existing partnership with Apple, with its Watson Health Cloud providing a cloud platform and analytics for Apple’s HealthKit and ResearchKit.

Johnson & Johnson will collaborate with IBM on mobile-based coaching systems for preoperative and postoperative patient care in areas such as joint replacement and spinal surgery. IBM said Johnson & Johnson would also be looking to launch a range of new health apps aimed at chronic conditions.

Finally, Medtronic will use the Watson Health Cloud for personalised diabetes care programmes that can analyse patient data from Medtronic devices, including insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitors, and turn this into diabetes management strategies for patients and healthcare providers.

Hooman Hakami, executive vice president and president of the Diabetes Group at Medtronic, said: “Devices alone cannot transform diabetes care. The combination of leadership technologies, big data, informatics and world-class patient management are all required to drive effective results in diabetes care.

“Medtronic and IBM intend to bring these capabilities together to pioneer a new level of care that will improve outcomes and lower cost so people living with diabetes can enjoy greater freedom and better health.”

The agreements – which add to relationships with UCB and two US medical practices – are non-exclusive and IBM said it expects “many more companies” will want to collaborate on the Watson Health Cloud platform.

The slew of new deals also includes IBM’s acquisition, for undisclosed amounts, of two US big data companies to advance its healthcare analytics capabilities.

Cleveland-based Explorys has a secure cloud-computing platform that can identify patterns in diseases, treatments and outcomes and integrates more than 315 billion clinical, financial, and operational data elements.

IBM has also bought Dallas-based Phytel, which develops and sells cloud-based services for healthcare providers and care teams to ensure care is effective and coordinated.

Source PMLive http://www.pmlive.com/blogs/digital_intelligence/archive/2015/april/ibm_sets_up_watson_health_unit_to_advance_its_data_ambitions_711761

IBM sets up Watson health unit to advance its data ambitions

Pfizer and Pharmacy Voice launch NHS campaign to reduce inappropriate use of A&E services

Pfizer has teamed up with a major pharmacy group to help reduce the strain on hospital admissions in the UK and ensuring that patients gain the right information about their healthcare.

The new ‘Right Route: Right Care’ campaign has been launched this week by Pfizer Healthy Partnerships (PHP) with endorsement from Pharmacy Voice.

It aims to support pharmacy teams in encouraging the public to make the most effective use of their local NHS services, using a simple traffic light system.

Accident and Emergency (A&E) departments are facing increasing pressure, with the number of people attending A&E for minor ailments rising 11 times the rate of the population increase between over the past decade.

This version of the campaign uses a traffic light system to highlight that pharmacists are well positioned to provide general health advice in the community and welcome people to come and discuss their health concerns with them, such as minor ailments, rather than going to A&E.

It also falls in line with a new aim from the government to use pharmacists more for general medical help in order to ease pressure of GPs and emergency departments.

Rob Darracott, CEO of Pharmacy Voice, said: “This winter just passed has shown once again that A&E departments face overwhelming demand and we need to start to change behaviour to help ensure a sustainable NHS. We need to help educate people so they can choose the most appropriate healthcare service.

“This is why we are very happy to support the Pfizer Healthy Partnerships Right Route: Right Care campaign which champions just that.”

He added: “Community pharmacies are the most accessible healthcare provider, a pharmacist is a qualified healthcare professional with five years of training and is always on-site to offer treatment and advice. Many community pharmacies also have extended hours and weekend opening.”

The campaign, designed to signpost patients to the most appropriate NHS service and highlight the role of community pharmacy, can help increase pharmacist engagement with patients and therefore provide further opportunities for them to identify the need for services such as the New Medicines Service (NMS), Medicines Use Reviews (MURs) and Health Checks.

The Right Route, Right Care campaign was first launched by Pfizer Healthy Partnerships in September 2014. During the initial rollout, a survey conducted in 125 people in one pharmacy found that 17% were visiting the pharmacy practice as a result of a campaign.

The campaign materials have now been updated with new statistics to continue to drive the most effective use of NHS services.

The Right Route: Right Care campaign resources include:

·         Implementation guide – providing background information, tips and advice for using the materials and launching the campaign (in English)

·         A poster – available in six languages: English, Polish, Punjabi, Urdu, Russian and Welsh

·         A patient leaflet – available in six languages: English, Polish, Punjabi, Urdu, Russian and Welsh.

Alison Wheeler, head of customer and channel marketing at Pfizer, said: “Reducing the burden on A&E is a particularly important challenge for the NHS and Pfizer recognises that increasing awareness and use of pharmacy services is one of a number of solutions to managing some patients’ health problems outside of A&E.

“Pfizer Healthy Partnerships focuses on providing information and resources to support pharmacists in their daily practice. The Right Route: Right Care campaign is the latest addition to this support and aims to provide a tool to meet the current needs of pharmacists, particularly those working in areas where there is a high demand on A&E services.”

Source PMLive http://www.pmlive.com/pharma_news/pfizer_and_pharmacy_voice_launch_nhs_campaign_707144

Pfizer and Pharmacy Voice launch NHS campaign to reduce inappropriate use of A&E services

Open health data network launches in US

‘Open Humans’ wants people to share health information to accelerate medical breakthroughs

 

A group of top university scientists have launched a project to build a community of researchers and participants who want to benefit medical progress – by using technology to open up health data.

The “Open Humans Network,” created by researchers from Harvard, New York University and the University of California San Diego, is backed by a $1m investment from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, as well as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, each of which contributed $500,000 in separate grants.

The project aims to break down barriers that make it difficult for willing individuals to access and share their data with researchers.

To this end, the Open Humans Network has created an online system that helps match people who want to share their health data with researchers who would benefit from access to more information.

The project’s director, Jason Bobe (pictured), said: “Think of it as open-sourcing your body. There is tremendous potential for accelerating medical discoveries by helping individuals take their health and personal data out of data silos and making the data more broadly used.”

The Open Humans Network hopes to accelerate scientific discoveries by making far more data available. The premise is that more individuals will join scientific studies if they are empowered with the choice to share their data. And the greater availability of shared data will allow scientists to conduct more studies, and produce more robust and meaningful results.

Researchers increasingly face problems in recruiting individuals to participate in studies and participation rates in the US have been dropping, according to a 2011 report by researchers at Wayne State University School of Medicine.

At launch, the site invites members to join three studies:

• American Gut – exploring microbial diversity of the human body;


• GoViral – profiling viruses related to flu-like illness; and


• Harvard Personal Genome Project – collecting genomic, environmental and human trait data

With shared data from these studies, researchers hope to glean new insights only possible after combining the data, for instance, whether a person’s gut microbiome influences susceptibility to the flu.

The project’s leaders say they do not treat the sharing of private information lightly.

Madeleine Ball, the project’s lead investigator, explained: “We strongly care about the impact of sharing, which is why the project has a research component, including an ethics review board, to study the outcomes of such personal health data disclosure.

“Despite the risks, we find many people genuinely want to ‘open source’ themselves to contribute to the greater good.

Paul Tarini, senior programme officer at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which is supporting the project, added: “Open Humans is one of the leaders among a new group of platforms that aim to change the way scientific discovery is made.

“We see their efforts to foster more collaboration between participants and researchers, including making it easier for participants to share data and to comment on early research concepts as important steps to help advance and accelerate medical breakthroughs.”

Source PMLive http://www.pmlive.com/pharma_news/open_health_data_network_launches_in_us_696129

Open health data network launches in US

NHS to expand video and email consultation pilots

Move is part of plans to increase patient access to GPs and pharmacists

Some 18 million people in the UK are set to be offered more evening and weekend, video, email and telephone consultations by March next year.

The Department of Health says its plans will produce an increase that is equivalent to 8,000 more appointments a day.

Underpinning this is the redevelopment of the existing practices used by over 8.5 million people to increase clinical space and offer additional services, with greater access to pharmacists, nurses and speech therapists from local GP surgeries also on the cards.

Pharmacists in these practices will particularly see their role increased, with them able to access medical records and provide more personalised advice.

The funding for these changes, announced less than six weeks before the UK’s general election, will come from a £100m addition to the existing £50m Prime Minister’s Challenge fund, a £250m infrastructure fund for new buildings, treatment rooms and IT and a £200m transformation fund for 29 pilots to integrate services offered by hospitals, GPs, and care homes.

The £100m addition to the Prime Minister’s Challenge Fund will support 1,417 practices across the country and should give 10 million people increased access to GP services.

It follows the initial £50m fund, which covered more than 1,100 practices and 7.5 million people. Early evidence from this first phase of work shows it is reducing A&E attendances by up to 15%, the DH said.

Meanwhile, the £250m infrastructure fund, originally announced in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement, will enable more than 1,000 practices to build new integrated health centres, make better use of technology and create more space to offer more appointments.

The fund will also support some practices to offer a wider range of additional services including onsite pharmacists, speech therapists, minor surgery, and diagnostic tests.

The infrastructure fund will also pay for a £10m GP workforce plan which will make it easier for GPs to return to the profession following a career break, encourage more medical students to take up careers as GPs and offer GPs considering early retirement the option to work reduced hours with reduced workloads.

The £200m transformation fund, also announced in the Autumn Statement, will be used to redesign care, with NHS England having earlier this month picked the the first 29 areas of the country that will receive a share of the money for this.

Source PMLive http://www.pmlive.com/blogs/digital_intelligence/archive/2015/march/nhs_to_expand_video_and_email_consultation_pilots_697596

NHS to expand video and email consultation pilots

Care system gets 'biggest shake-up in 60 years'

Care in the UK

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  Care in the UK: The costs you face

  
  

  
  

  26 January 2015

  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  


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  How the care system works across the UK

  
  

  
  

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  How the cap on care costs works

  
  

  
  

  21 January 2015

  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  


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  Does the (care) cap fit?

  
  

  
  

  27 January 2015

  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  

Major changes to the care system in England are being introduced in what is being dubbed the biggest shake-up for 60 years.

The Care Act 2014 includes rights for those receiving care and those who provide it to their loved ones.

It includes standards for access to services from care homes to help in the home for tasks such as washing and dressing.

Meanwhile, NHS and care budgets are being merged in Scotland.

The Public Bodies (Joint Working) Act has been described as the most substantial reform north of the border for a generation.

 It effectively forces councils and the NHS to work together to provide more streamlined services.

That aim is also a major topic of debate in England in the election campaign with the Conservatives, Labour, Liberal Democrats, UKIP and Greens all having plans for greater integration.

Policy guide: Health and care

This issue includes NHS funding, GP access and social care, particularly of older people.

Compare parties’ policies

Policy guide: Where the parties stand

But the changes coming into force in England on Wednesday apply only to the care system for older people and younger adults with disabilities.

Four major changes are being introduced:

• The creation of national eligibility criteria establishing for the first time when someone should be entitled to help – to date, it has been up to councils to set their own criteria


• A duty on councils to offer schemes by which those who need to pay for residential care can get a loan from their local council, which is then paid back from their estate after death


• Giving carers for the first time the same right to assessment and support as the people they care for; before, they had to provide “substantial care on a regular basis” to get an assessment


• Those who pay for care themselves will be entitled to go to councils to get advice and information about the care system.

To help protect people’s assets, a cap on care costs they have to pay for – set at £72,000 for the over-65s – will kick in from April next year. How the cap works for younger people has still to be finalised.

Today’s changes, however, still mark a major milestone in care services, which experts say have hardly changed since the current system was created along with the NHS after the Second World War.

BBC Cost of Care project

The BBC has launched an online guide to the care system for the over-65s. The “care calculator” covers residential care and the support provided in people’s own homes, for tasks such as washing and dressing.

Users can submit their postcode and find out how much each service costs where they live in the UK.

There is also a dedicated BBC Cost of Care website, with news stories, analysis and video.

• The care calculator


• Cost of Care website


• How the systems differ in the UK


• England’s care cap explained

David Pearson, president of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services, said the changes were “probably the most significant development” since 1948.

But he said there were still issues to resolve on the underfunding of the system. Unlike the NHS, the care system budget has been cut in real terms this Parliament.

Izzi Seccombe, leader of Warwickshire council, who chairs the Local Government Association’s Wellbeing Board, agreed with both points.

“Councils simply cannot afford any more financial burdens when social care services are already chronically underfunded,” she said.

Janet Morrison, of the charity Independent Age, said the Care Act had the “potential to revolutionise” services.

But she said: “With a rapidly ageing population, we need an honest debate during and after the election about the true costs of care.”

Source BBC News/Health http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-32136209

Care system gets 'biggest shake-up in 60 years'