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:

• Hear our CEO, Senior Leadership and NHS customers speak on the ORCHA Stage
• Meet our top-scoring digital health suppliers and hear about their digital health journey
• Set up a meeting ahead of time with our team to discuss your digital health needs 
• Book your digital solution right on our stand – DTAC, Digital Health Audit, Market Insight Report and so much more 

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.

DTAC – Are you ready?

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.

Digital Patient Zone

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!

Which digital health suppliers are exhibiting on ORCHA’s Digital Patient Zone?

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:

• MyWay Digital Health (MWDH), a University of Dundee spin out company. MWDHs vision is to improve the lives of people with diabetes globally through affordable data-driven solutions. Their flagship product; My Diabetes My Way (MDMW)), is multi-award winning, improves health outcomes and saves costs (5:1 ROI).
• Kinetikos Health is revolutionising the standard of care for Movement Disorders, namely Parkinson’s Disease. Our remote treatment monitoring and decentralised clinical trial platform uses real-time, objective data – mobility, severity of symptomatology, medication adherence – from smartphones to help patients, clinicians, researchers, and healthcare systems. We improve patient’s quality of life through continuum healthcare.
• Remcare is helping automate clinical pathways to improve productivity. For eg: Automated validation and risk stratification of waiting list backlogs has resulted in increase theatre utilisation and discharging 16% of patients. It has increased productivity by 45% in the pre-anaesthetic assessment clinics and improve PROMs data collection after treatment with 70% decrease in admin resource.
• Attensi: Helping the NHS, Attensi’s platform simulates any kind of human interaction, whether it be dialogues, clinical care or use of IT-systems in a cost-effective and scalable way. Delivering exemplary training by providing staff with a safe, virtual environment to master their procedures and interactions within 3D gamified training simulations.
• Thalamos’ eMHA software delivers an end-to-end digital pathway which makes the Mental Health Act swifter, simpler and safer. A for profit for purpose business, Thalamos is enabling the 4 principles of the 2018 Review of the Mental Health Act, in doing so are making the MHA more human.
• stem4 is a charity supporting positive mental health in teenagers. As part of their work, stem4 have developed 4 apps; ‘Calm Harm’ for managing the urge to self-harm, ‘Clear Fear’ for managing anxiety, ‘Move Mood’ for managing low mood/depression, and ‘Combined Minds’ for family/friends looking to provide support.
• Quit Genius is the world’s first digital clinic for treating addictions. Quit Genius combines virtual cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) with medications and connected devices to help employers, insurance providers and NHS organisations to tackle addiction. To-date, Quit Genius has helped more than 750,000 people improve their lives and quit their addictions. Visit www.quitgenius.com for more information.
• NuvoAir is a digital therapeutics company that creates intelligent cloud-based solutions which enable people with long term respiratory conditions to measure their lung health remotely, act on insights and share their data to support clinical decisions and optimise therapy.
• War on Cancer aims to radically improve the mental health of everyone affected by cancer. We’re doing so by building the global cancer app for people in and after treatment allowing them to connect with and help each other, and contribute to and be a part of cancer research.
• B. Braun is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of medical devices and pharmaceutical products and services. B. Braun develops high quality products, systems and services, protecting and improving people’s health and remaining dedicated to playing its part in helping the NHS recover from the implications of COVID-19. Website: www.bbraun.co.uk Email: Strategicpartnerships.bbmuk@bbraun.com Twitter: @BBraunUK
• Feeling Good App: We have been working with the Scottish and English NHS evolving/evidencing a programme for emotional distress and building resilience in Staff, patients and University students for 10 + years  Our flagship product is the NHS and DTAC accredited ‘Feeling Good: Positive Mindset’ app and we support this with online psycho-education webinars.
• Brain in Hand is a UK based digital hybrid healthcare company and an innovation leader in supported self-management. Combining practical human support, simple digital tools, and a 24/7 safety net, we enable autistic people and those living with other neurological difference or mental health difficulties to live more independently.
• S12 Solutions is an app and website, which helps mental health professionals efficiently complete Mental Health Act 1983 processes, leaving them more time to focus on what they do best: supporting the person.
• Ampersand Health is a social purpose company, founded by doctors and patients to improve the health and happiness of people living with long-term inflammatory conditions. Ampersand is pioneering the development of behavioural and data-science based digital therapies, to help prolong remission and provide support for self-management and remote monitoring.
• Cognitant empowers people to take control of their health through deeper understanding of their conditions and treatment. Experts in the production of innovative health information and experiences, Cognitant applies use of visual, immersive and interactive formats to change patient behaviour and outcomes. Cognitant is also the power behind Healthinote, the go-to source for trusted health information, which already connects over 3,000 practices with over 30 million people in the UK.
• FibriCheck is a certified smartphone-based solution for symptomatic/ known-AF patients, and a cost-effective, scalable detection tool for asymptomatic/ high-risk patients. Equitable at-home monitoring facilitates better case-finding, intervention and management of worsening CVD -improving outcomes. Real-time analytics enables remote clinical decision-making, efficient service delivery/ resource allocation, shortened diagnostic and referral wait-times.
• ResApp develops digital healthcare solutions to assist doctors and empower patients to diagnose and manage respiratory disease. We create simple, clinically validated and regulatory approved diagnostic tools that only require a smartphone. Our solutions provide respiratory disease diagnosis directly to healthcare providers and are easily integrated into existing telehealth solutions.
• Monsenso is an innovative technology company offering a digital health solution. Our mission is to help provide better mental health to more people at lower costs. Our solution helps optimise the treatment of mental disorders and gives a detailed overview of an individual’s mental health through the collection of outcome, adherence and behavioural data. It connects individuals, carers and health care providers to enable personalised treatment, remote care and early intervention. Based on continuous research and development, our team is committed to developing solutions that fit seamlessly into the lives of individuals, increase their quality of life and improve the efficacy of mental health treatment. 
• Biosay: At Biosay, we imagine a wellness-first world fueled by data, technology, and human connection. To achieve this, we harness real-time, real-world data to improve people’s emotional and physical well-being and their communities. Our goal is to nurture an inclusive and collaborative community of individuals and organisations dedicated to better understanding ourselves and each other.
• Beingwell is a wellbeing company with roots in medical research and development. We want to help everyone to live a little bit better every day, and if we can, we prevent people from needing much support at all. Our tools include award winning cognitive assessment and improvement apps; MyCognition and AquaSnap.

ORCHA Stage Line Up 

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

• Agenda: https://hubs.la/H0PqT8g0
• Speakers: https://hubs.la/H0PqTgH0
• Exhibitor List: https://hubs.la/H0PqThG0
• Networking: https://hubs.ly/H0PqTj-0

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 – 

• Use your ORCHA pro account to recommend an app – we suggest a fitness app to go with the active theme – you can recommend it to a service user, a colleague or even to yourself! If you’re unsure about how to access your Pro account please email hello@orcha.co.uk
• Send an email to activeahps@orcha.co.uk saying ‘I’ve sent my active app recommendation’. Make sure you use the email address associated with your Pro account. Emails will only be counted if a recommendation has been sent in August. 
• Double your chances of winning by joining in on Twitter and showing us how you’re using an app as part of the #AHPsActive challenge. Tag us @ORCHAhealth and use the hashtag #ORCHAAHPs – please note you must use the tag and hashtag to qualify as an entry.

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

According to charity Young Minds, 67% of young people felt the pandemic would have a long-term impact on their mental health.

Now, a group of teenage boys are working together to figure out how technology, in the form of health apps, can support their peers through tough times.

The Clear Mind Project, a name which the boys themselves chose, was instigated by Liz Ashall-Payne, founding CEO of Daresbury-based health tech specialist ORCHA (the Organisation for the Review of Care and Health Apps).

Luke Scott, 15, Ollie Rawlinson John, 16, James McCann, 17, and Marcus Ashall-Payne, 16, were invited to take part in a work experience project, which challenged them to select a number of health apps focusing on mental health support for young people and to promote them to as wide an audience as possible.

Having selected the five apps they wished to recommend, the boys created a leaflet for distribution at their schools and a series of TikTok videos and Instagram posts. They also produced a presentation, featuring their top five recommended apps, which they delivered to 400 students via the Speakers for Schools project and to CAMHS (Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services) professionals in Cambridgeshire and Surrey.

Highlights of the project were a visit by Weaver Vale MP, Mike Amesbury, to the ORCHA headquarters at the Sci-Tech Daresbury business park and a radio interview with the Word on Health programme, which is broadcast on community radio across the UK.

Commenting on his visit, Mike Amesbury said: “It was a delight to meet James and hear more about the project. Mental illness is something that affects all ages. Statistics show around 1 in 4 people will experience a mental health problem each year. The pandemic has exacerbated this even more.

“James and other young people in his team identified quality mental health apps which they then promoted to their peers through a social media campaign. They also worked alongside NHS clinicians in a truly innovative project that gave a voice to young people in the important and growing area of digital health.”

The teens commented that the pandemic had put extra pressure on themselves and on their peers. James said: The severe social isolation caused by the pandemic has led to many people struggling to revert to a normal social life. I think this can contribute to mental health conditions like depression and anxiety.”

Ollie added: “A lot of people will have broken up from school and be thinking now about exam results, which will also be causing them stress. They need high quality health apps – ones which will help with mental health support and be safe for teens.”

Liz Ashall-Payne said: “This is our first youth project but we intend to do more. We are blown away by what the boys have achieved and we sincerely hope that the five apps chosen by the Clear Mind Project will help young people.”

Liz added: “We’d also like to reach out to schools across our region, as we offer a Digital Healthy Schools programme. With young people increasingly turning to their phones for support with their health, we want to make absolutely sure that they understand how and where to find high quality apps, which will be safe for them to use.”

The five apps recommended by the Clear Mind Project team are:

WYSA

Wysa is an AI chatbot that uses cognitive behavioural techniques to ensure that patients feel heard. The app’s conversational coaching tools are powered by the AI bot to allow users to express their feelings confidently and anonymously. These tools help users to cultivate confidence, reduce anxiety and improve general wellbeing.

Platforms: Apple iOS and Android
Cost: In-app purchases but students get premium free
ORCHA score: 85%

MEETOO

MeeToo is an app that allows users to share their struggles and receive advice from other users. It is aimed at anyone who is above the age of eleven and creates an accessible and comforting atmosphere for users going through a variety of issues. The app has a social media-like layout which the majority of teenagers will be very familiar with, making it more appealing and engaging. MeeToo has an age band feature that connects app users to others of a similar age.

Platforms: Apple iOS, Google, Android
Cost: Free
ORCHA score: 81%

APART OF ME

Apart of Me is a game app that is described as “A beautiful world, built to guide you through your darkest moments.” It is designed to help younger audiences cope with grief, anticipatory grief and loss. It includes interactive features such as journals that share real life experiences of other teenagers that have been through grief and loss, and they share their own personal methods they use to cope during their difficult times.

Platforms: Apple iOS, Android
Cost: Free
ORCHA score: 80%

BRAIN IN HAND

This helps provide structure to people’s lives when they need help remembering things, making decisions, planning, or managing anxiety. It is mostly used by people who are autistic, have learning difficulties or who are battling mental health challenges. It combines digital self-management technology with human support to help people live a more independent lifestyle.

Platforms: Apple iOS, Android, Web
Cost: Subscription
ORCHA score: 88%

RR: EATING DISORDER MANAGEMENT

Recovery Record helps people with eating disorders including anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder. It can also help with general eating, weight and shape concerns. Users can keep a record of meals, thoughts and feelings, view charts that highlight insights, trends and progress plus receive and send encouraging messages and virtual gifts to/from other users.

Platforms: Apple iOS and Android
Cost: Free
ORCHA score: 82%