After learning about the benefits of the Digital Health programme commissioned by Our Dorset, Seven Integrated Care Systems Across the South West have also introduced the ORCHA system to empower citizens, increase their digital maturity, achieve consistency in Digital Health across the system and achieve cost savings.
A partnership of health and social care organisations working together, Our Dorset holds the ambition for its 750,000 residents to lead healthier, fulfilling lives supported by sustainable health and care services. But the ICS faces real challenges. Similar to many regions, Dorset is facing significant workforce gaps in nearly every area of care and its population is ageing, bringing more long-term conditions, and placing a growing demand on its services.
To address this challenge, the ICS understood the importance of breaking down barriers to the health and social care system in empowering citizens with digital health tools. It first aimed to lay solid foundations for public facing digital health and apps were agreed to be a key building block.
Recognising the barriers in culture to embed the offering of digital health tools being firstly awareness and secondly accessibility, Dorset looked for a partner that would provide a single point of navigation both for the workforce and population in surfacing digital health tools in a simple way. Rather than select point products , it identified ORCHA as its partner in enabling a comprehensive closed loop system for all of the ICS digital health needs. The partnership with ORCHA enables continuous horizon scans, identifying the best technologies and developers to work with. The clinically designed evaluation process assesses these digital tools against relevant measures and if appropriate, surfaces them in a library that has a good user experience in searching and filtering to download and use such tools by choice. It continues to re-evaluate each tool when a developer does an update which helps assure the ICS and recommender on the safety of such tools. Its closed loop system also safeguards product and regulatory changes.
So in early 2020, Our Dorset commissioned ORCHA to assess digital health, develop a formulary of digital health products for priority areas, build a bespoke health app library demonstrating its use to the workforce and empowering them in how to signpost, and where commissioned prescribe digital health tools. With ORCHA, Our Dorset delivered a programme that mitigated risk and assured clinical teams they are recommending safe apps during the pandemic to enable accelerated access to services from home.
When the AHSNs, CIOs and CCIOs from across the South West learned about the programme, the benefits of rolling out the system across the South West were clear. As although digital health had been adopted across the South West, it had only been part of other initiatives. For example, digital health was used in programmes to address remote monitoring and COPD.
Because of this, and other Digital priorities, no single role had taken a step back and taken a holistic system wide oversight to digital health and the culture change for such services in its entirety. What Our Dorset demonstrated is that when a system wide perspective is adopted for digital health, benefit is seen across the whole health and care system, not just condition or issue-specific pockets.
Transformation Boards universally agreed that the solution would particularly add real value in the prevention space, easing pressure on the system. They also reported that it should not be viewed separately to COVID, but part of the COVID recovery plans.
Faced with an already stretched workforce, concern was expressed around resource requirements. However, as Our Dorset managed the programme led by one person, bringing in wider teams such as clinicians and marketing when needed, for a period of months; this concern was allayed.
The seven ICSs commissioned ORCHA to manage digital health assessment and distribution across the South West. All seven ICSs would collectively benefit ORCHA’s governance and assessments, including Digital Technology Assessment Criteria (DTAC) a baseline for digital health technologies to adhere to, enabling patients and the system to adopt relevant, safe and innovative technologies more quickly. This meant that staff and patients would have access to a consistent digital health toolkit, whilst each ICS would have its own digital health library, giving it the flexibility to choose its own health priorities and maintain its own brand. With Our Dorset being the host organisation, all organisations have signed up to the programme individually.
It was agreed that in every organisation, the roll-out would be led by Primary care. Each then looked for governance in which to anchor its deployment; this could be long term condition management, personalised care, healthy ageing, or anticipatory care, as they all share common ground with digital health benefits.
Each ICS worked with ORCHA to build its own personalised app library, giving professionals and the public to assess apps, and highlighting what good looks like for digital health tools. To assist, Our Dorset gave examples of areas they have seen good traction, including wellbeing, weight management, smoking and Musculoskeletal (MSK).
To aid workforce adoption and empower the skills and knowledge to use the app library and trust the digital tools featured, training was rolled out across a range of cohorts. Feedback was positive and teams valued that the system can act as their horizon scanning tool for new technologies.
To help assess the impact on workforce digital readiness, pre and post deployments were conducted across every ICS.
The seven organisations in this programme now have a system-wide approach. They have a single point of navigation to a wide range of digital health tools across long term condition management, wellbeing, screening and diagnostics, assured they have undergone due diligence.
It is essential today that digital literacy is made a priority for any workforce. The training programme delivered as part of the roll out helped to educate staff on digital health, giving them the professional development and confidence to recommend digital first. With staff shortages, having consistent training and tools also gives the system flexibility in movement.
Commissioning and managing the system across seven ICS areas is not only delivering consistency for staff and patients, but it is also delivering cost savings. Comparing the roll-out to a single organisation the group has reduced costs by thirty per cent. This doesn’t even take into account the cost savings delivered by each digital health technology tool within the app library that helps individuals better manage their health.
Since launching its programme, Our Dorset has seen significant impact. As they prepare to launch their libraries, the other six ICSs across the South West will be looking to achieve similar results. As in Dorset there have been almost 37,205 pages viewed on the site (up to the end of July 2021), and in one month alone, the app library achieved nearly 5,500 page views. Social prescribers are actively recommending apps to service users and vitally, this advice is being acted upon, with almost 2283 apps recommended to date and 56% of recommended apps downloaded, which is a very good engagement rate, especially compared with other services. The most popular search terms include Mental Health, MSK, Dementia, Diabetes and Cancer. Some of the most popular apps to be viewed are Wysa: Stress, Depression & Anxiety Therapy, Sleepio, NHS Weight Loss Plan and Musculoskeletal (MSK) Self Care, providing a range of health interventions and show that apps are being selected to improve the physical and mental health of the population.
The roll out has put in place the coordination needed to assure that the digital health technologies recommended by a team of 2,800 professionals across almost 50 organisations within the 7 ICSs, consistently not only meets standards, but pinpoints the best solution for every patient, in the 5.6 million population it serves.
Commenting on the programme, Crystal Dennis, Interim Lead for Digital Access to Service @Home, Our Dorset Digital, said:
“After Transformation Boards learned of what had been achieved in Dorset, everyone was unanimous in the view that it was a no-brainer to roll out an app library powered by ORCHA across the seven ICS organisations. For safety, practical and effectiveness reasons, it’s a foundation platform that every part of the health and social care teams should have access to.
“It is possible for an organisation to get to where we are now. But it will be harder, take longer and cost an awful lot more.”
The Pharma industry is increasingly interested in the topic of digital health. The European Pharmaceutical Manufacturer recently spoke with our Founding CEO, Liz Ashall-Payne, about this important topic.
In the article, ‘App development is a golden opportunity – but pharma companies need to be wary’, Liz highlights the increase in patient willingness to embrace digital health in the form of apps. New research from ORCHA found that:
“65% [of patients surveyed] agreed that they’d be willing to look at using more technology, such as health apps, as part of a fresh approach. Nearly half the respondents (49%) agreed that doctors should be able to prescribe health apps just like they prescribe traditional medicines. Of the 38% who had already used a health app, a striking 87% said they were satisfied with the experience (nearly 40% of those were strongly satisfied).”
Liz goes on to explain, however, the pitfalls when apps fail to comply with digital health standards and regulations, particularly when apps can ‘cost anywhere between £250 and £1m to produce’. Thus, Liz highlights the need to ask when considering an app:
“Is your strategy right, have you built the best product and have you avoided non-compliance?”
Read the full article on the European Pharmaceutical Manufacturer’s website to learn more.
After more than a year of not being able to get together at conferences in person, ORCHA is delighted to announce that we are officially making our HETT return with our brand new Digital Patient Zone!
Taking place on the 28th and 29th September 2021 at the ExCeL London, HETT Show is a CPD-certified digital health and health tech event designed for healthcare professionals, by healthcare professionals.
The ORCHA Digital Patient Zone at stand C52 will be packed with the very best of what ORCHA offers:
HETT is the ideal location for the healthcare community to share experiences and learnings, as well as effective digital health strategies and new processes. It’s also a great place to see the latest innovations designed specifically to address the sector’s biggest challenges, which is precisely why we are hosting a Digital Patient Zone at this year’s event.
As well as the acceleration of digital health since the pandemic, there has been a huge buzz around the new standard for accreditation from NHSX, with the DTAC rapidly accelerating in importance as many buying organisations integrate this standard into their minimum requirements set.
Complying with DTAC can seem like a hugely onerous undertaking, especially for a new innovator with limited resources, this is why ORCHA’s expert team will be on hand to advise both suppliers and systems on what this means for them.
Digital health suppliers: Are you DTAC ready? Where are you in the process of becoming DTAC Accredited? Why not get support from ORCHA?
Our experts will be on hand at HETT to advise you about all things digital health accreditation and assessment.
Get in touch to book your DTAC pre-assessment at HETT or speak with a member of our team to learn more about our DTAC accreditation services.
Health and care providers: Have you introduced digital health to your organisation? What digital health tools are you providing to your patients and how are you assessing their compliance? Have you completed a digital health audit?
Wherever you are on your digital health journey, ORCHA can de-risk your organisation and ensure you are continuously fully compliant across all areas of digital health.
Book in a slot to meet with our team at HETT to discuss how ORCHA can help you introduce world class digital health into your organisation or learn more about our solutions on our website.
The Digital Patient Zone is a digital health showcase comprising 20 digital health suppliers with top scoring solutions on ORCHA’s extensive app library. Their solutions will be demonstrated across individual pods in the Digital Patient Zone and all suppliers will be presenting during the HETT Show on ORCHA’s own mini-stage. Come along to our digital health solutions showcase at stand C52!
Our carefully selected digital health suppliers will be able to explain the functions and features of their solutions and answer any questions you might have about how it can help to improve the quality of digital health for patients, professionals, communities and consumers.
Take a look below for the full line-up of digital health suppliers to be showcased in our Digital Patient Zone:
The ORCHA Digital Patient Zone will also feature talks from our team of experts and digital health suppliers. Browse the full agenda here!
Whether you are interested in digital health solutions for specific health and care conditions, want to know more about the development of digital health solutions, or want to know more about ORCHA’s review process and how you could work with us, ORCHA’s HETT 2021 Digital Patient Zone promises to be a digital health showcase like no other!
Register Free* Here:https://hubs.la/H0PqTkd0
*HETT Show is free to attend for those working in the NHS, independent healthcare provision, the care sector, the wider public sector, academia/research and not-for-profit.
Useful links
ORCHA is holding a competition for Allied Health Professions (AHPs) who are ORCHA Pro License holders, to run alongside the yearly Twitter We Active Challenge
We Active Challenge is an annual social media campaign run by @WeAHPs and @WeNurses, and it focuses on encouraging the healthcare workforce, their families and friends to be more physically active over the month of August.
ORCHA’s AHPs are taking part in the challenge, starting with recommending our favourite fitness apps to our colleagues and sharing our progress on Twitter via the hashtag #ORCHAAHPs
We would like to invite AHPs that are ORCHA Pros to do the same – and to be entered into a prize draw to Win a *FitBit!
ORCHA’s AHPs are taking part in the #AHPsActive challenge, starting with recommending our favourite fitness apps to our colleagues and sharing our progress on Twitter via the hashtag #ORCHAAHPs! We would like to invite AHPs that are ORCHA Pros to do the same – and to be entered into a prize draw to win a *FitBit!
If you haven’t yet signed up for your ORCHA Pro Account, contact hello@orcha.co.uk to find out how!
Watch this quick video to find out more https://youtu.be/oQOH0xY5610
How to enter –
The winner will be chosen using an electronic prize draw generator the week of the 20th September. The winner will be contacted by email.
*The prize is the charge 4 FitBit in black, rosewood or blue/black. We will ask for the winner’s preference once the draw is made. The prize cannot be exchanged for monetary value or any other item.
Also – why not follow our team on Twitter to see what they’re all getting up to? Just search @ORCHAhealth or the hashtag #ORCHAAHPs.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch via email at hello@orcha.co.uk