Which health categories have been added to the Dynamic Purchasing System to streamline digital health procurement and support the NHS’s response to COVID-19?
Digital self-management resources such as apps have played a vital role in supporting patients throughout the COVID-19 crisis. As the response to the pandemic continues, NHS London Procurement Partnership (NHS LPP) is offering support to procure safe, secure apps through its Health and Social Care Apps Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS).
Developed in partnership with ORCHA, NHS LPP’s DPS allows NHS organisations to rapidly procure quality assured digital health solutions at scale. This partnership ensures that suppliers through the DPS comply with strict and rigid rules around patient safety and data standards, meeting the need for an easy to access, safe and compliant route through which to procure health and social care applications to benefit patients, clinicians and non-clinical staff.
For health services wanting to procure a new app for their patients, the DPS offers a shortlist of suppliers whose apps have been pre-assessed for security, clinical merit, patient accessibility, and patient safety. All apps that apply for the DPS undergo an assessment by ORCHA, which informs which suppliers are awarded a place by NHS LPP on the DPS.
ORCHA carries out reviews of thousands of apps across all health and care conditions. The ORCHA Review process scores apps according to key assessment criteria relating to Clinical Assurance, Data Privacy and User Experience. Full details on the ORCHA Review can be found here.
ORCHA’s ability to have digital products reviewed quickly, combined with the thorough process for digital solutions to qualify for the DPS, enables a streamlined and compliant route to market for safe and efficient mHealth apps and services. The DPS provides NHS organisations with a trusted, searchable, one-stop-shop for digital health solutions.
The NHS LPP DPS has recently been used by NHS England to procure the new MyType1Diabetes app, now available to patients across England to help them manage their condition during the coronavirus pandemic. The app includes videos and eLearning courses, to help people better understand their condition and increase their confidence in managing it.
Adults with type 1 diabetes can access the app directly by going to myType1diabetes.nhs.uk
As of Thursday 16th July 2020, thirteen new, condition-specific categories have been added to NHS LPP’s Dynamic Purchasing System:
Category 13 – Blood
Category 14 – Dental
Category 15 – Ear / Nose / Throat / Mouth
Category 16 – Education
Category 17 – Eyes
Category 18 – First Aid
Category 19 – Gastrointestinal
Category 20 – Kidney / Genito-Urinary
Category 21 – Men’s Health
Category 22 – Sexual Health
Category 23 – Skin
Category 24 – Tropical Diseases
Category 25 – Woman’s Health
COVID-19 specific categories, developed in partnership with ORCHA, have also been recently added to the DPS to help with the NHS’s response to the pandemic:
These categories provide further COVID-19 solutions for the NHS to procure, at a time when digital health has never been more important.
As ORCHA broadens the scope of its Review process, web-based apps are now also included on the DPS, in additional to iOS and Android mobile device apps.
NHS organisations looking to procure digital health solutions can access the DPS by visiting healthappsdps.orcha.co.uk
The site provides drop-down options for each health and care category on the DPS, allowing organisations to easily see which apps and digital solutions are available for procurement. Transparent information is available on how each solution has scored in terms of its clinical assurance, data privacy and user experience, meaning organisations can make informed decisions as to which apps to procure.
More information on the DPS is available on the NHS London Procurement Partnership DPS webpage, or you can register for the DPS online now.
Digital health app developers and suppliers who want to apply for inclusion on the DPS should visit lppsourcing.org, select the ‘find opportunities’ option after logging in to LPP Sourcing, then select NHS London Procurement Partnership from the Organisations drop-down.
If you have a relevant digital health solution, you can apply to be part of the DPS here.
In order to view the opportunity, select the ‘find opportunities’ option on the landing page once you have logged in to LPP Sourcing. From there, select NHS London Procurement Partnership from the Organisations drop down. A list of current opportunities should load. From this list, please select ‘Health and Social Care Apps DPS.’ When this page has loaded, please select ‘Register interest in this opportunity’; you will be taken to the opportunity where you can review all documentation, and, should you wish to, begin the electronic questionnaire by clicking on the green icon at the bottom of the page. To reply to each question, please click on the edit link within the Question Sets box.
Two barriers to mHealth prescription revealed
COVID-19 has led to a dramatic increase in Digital Health within NHS services. But as lockdown restrictions are lifted, experts fear the industry’s mHealth progress could stall or even reverse. The Organisation for the Review of Care and Health Apps (ORCHA) publishes in JMIR mHealth and uHealth research that quantifies for the first time what is most required by healthcare professionals to prescribe Digital Health, and reveals what factors are limiting adoption.
The team at ORCHA found a NHS badge for Digital Health overwhelmingly came in as the most important factor for take-up, followed by peer opinion and personal use of the technology. Although published studies after often called for, these were named, but it would take 5 published studies to be as convincing as one NHS stamp of approval, and 2 published studies to be as convincing as a peer recommendation of the app.
Two factors were also identified that directly correlate with a drop in Digital Health usage. Both patient age and the cost of digital health were linked with a reduced likelihood of prescribing. This is worrying because, as people age and become more susceptible to long-term health conditions, they are less likely to be recommended digital health to manage their health. A drop in prescription for paid-for digital health is also a concern, as it may reflect an inherent lack of understanding of the value digital health brings.
On a positive note, only 8% of healthcare professionals are reluctant to use digital health. These are most likely to be aged over 55 or not using a health app themselves, giving organisations clear routes to target education programmes.
Commenting on the research, Simon Leigh, Health Economist, ORCHA, said: “Now is a critical time for Digital Health. Adoption has rocketed during COVID-19, but as the requirement for remote consultations fades, so too may the industry’s take-up of digital health.
“This research reveals the underlying attitudes and wants from healthcare professionals. It’s important for providers to consider these needs, if the NHS is to achieve its long-term digital transformation ambitions.”
Health economists at ORCHA conducted research with 230 UK healthcare professionals, using a series of focus groups, ranking exercises, and a discrete choice experiment. The research can be found here: https://mhealth.jmir.org/2020/7/e17704/
Dr Tom Micklewright discusses his views on three apps for managing diabetes that have scored well in ORCHA’s Review.
As there are 4.7 million people in the UK with diabetes, management of this condition now makes up 10% of the NHS budget.1 Health apps give patients tools to self-manage, reducing pressure on the NHS.
But how do you find the right ones? ORCHA has reviewed 229 diabetes apps, and 82% score below our quality threshold, indicating a market of low quality apps.
Today, Dr Tom Micklewright discusses his views on three apps for managing diabetes that have scored well in ORCHA’s Review.
In these videos, Dr Tom Micklewright looks at three top-scoring diabetes apps, giving his opinion on their features, benefits, and areas for improvement.
Dr Micklewright demonstrates the Intellin app, shares his views, and explores how the app simplifies the management of diabetes and identifies the risk of developing complications. Intellin gives personalised predictions on users’ highest risk areas and provides tips on how to prevent these complications.
Click below to watch the video:
Dr Micklewright next looks at the way in which the Diabetes Forum app provides a moderated peer-to-peer support network to people with diabetes (considered vulnerable under COVID-19). This includes elderly people, friends and caregivers. The app can be distributed through a mobile and web app:
For his insight into another top-scoring diabetes app, Dr Micklewright demonstrates how Liva UK provides personalised health coaching programmes to patients at risk of developing, or currently living with, chronic diseases such as Pre and Type 2 Diabetes:
A new group has been formed to drive forward the much needed digital health readiness agenda.
A new group has been formed to drive forward the much needed digital health readiness agenda. This will be led by CECOPS CIC*, and supported by many experts in the digital health space.
The formation of this group follows a webinar run by CECOPS ‘DIGITAL HEALTH READINESS, DURING & POST COVID-19 PANDEMIC’**.
There was an overwhelming sense in the discussion that in order for the digital health marketplace to be sustainable and effective, the issue of organisational readiness should be addressed as a matter of priority.
The task group will be jointly chaired by Professor Mike Bewick (a former deputy medical director at NHS England) and Shane Tickell (Vice Chair, Health and Social Care, TechUK, and CEO Temple Black). The group have agreed that the issue of digital health readiness is beyond further discussion and want to be seen as a ‘Do Tank’.
The overall aims of the group are to establish what digital health readiness actually looks like, share, scale and accelerate it, so that organisations are ready for adopting new innovations and technologies at pace, to ensure improved outcomes and benefits can be fully realised. The group will collaborate with other strategic partners in the space.
“Over recent years there has been some excellent work initiated by organisations like NHS England/Improvement – including the NHS Clinical Entrepreneur programme, NHSX, the Academic Health Science Networks and Digital Health London, looking at innovations. To capitalise on this work we feel readiness is an area where focus needs to be, especially with the momentum COVID-19 has given with regards to looking at digital health; we don’t want to miss this opportunity.” – Professor Bewick
Brian Donnelly, CEO, CECOPS, will lead on the day to day operations of the group and oversee projects, along with a support team. The task group advisory panel includes:
Prof. Mike Bewick (Joint Chair)
Shane Tickell (Joint Chair)
Dr Taz Aldawoud, CCIO, NHS Bradford District and Craven CCG; CEO, Doc Abode (Vice Chair)
Dr. Ruth Ngozi Agbakoba, Academic & Digital Health Consultant (Project Lead & Advisor)
Dr Paul Rice, Regional Director of Digital Transformation, NHS England & NHS Improvement (External Advisor)
Rachel Murphy, CEO, Difrent Group (External Advisor)
Eamus Halpin, Corporate Strategist, Horizon Strategic Partners (External Advisor)
Liz Ashall-Payne, CEO, ORCHA (External Advisor)
Dr Tamsin Holland Brown, Paediatrician, Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust (External Advisor)
Dr. Sam Shah, Digital Health Tech Advisor (External Advisor)
Neelam Patel, CEO, MedCity (External Advisor)
Helen Hughes, CEO, Patient Safety Learning (External Advisor)
Charlotte Lewis, Commercial Health Lawyer, Mills & Reeve (External Advisor)
Dr. Antonio E. Weiss, Author & Director 2020 Delivery (External Advisor)
Hassan Chaudhury, Digital Health Lead at Healthcare UK (External Advisor)
Andy Wilkins, Co-Founder at Vision4Health & CEO of BE Advisory
Readiness assessments will look mainly at the planning and commissioning of services, including system readiness. It will help bring organisations to the procurement and commissioning phase. Assessments can also cover digital health providers, so that they are also ready to bring their solution to the market.
“This is an excellent opportunity to ensure the system is ready for some of the great innovations out there. This initiative could not have come at a better time. I am delighted to be part of this.” – Dr Taz Aldawoud (Vice Chair)
Readiness will be assessed against the CECOPS International Code of Practice for Planning, Commissioning and Providing Technology Enabled Care Services: A Quality Framework for Procurement and Commissioning of Services, and using the iCOPS® self-assessment and continuous improvement software tool.
Readiness assessments can be undertaken at both micro and macro levels e.g. hospitals, Integrated Care Systems. If you would like to find more about this new task group and how it can support you, please get in touch: T: 01494 863398 | M: 07511667330 | brian@cecops.org.uk
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*CECOPS CIC is the independent standards and accreditation body in the UK for all assistive technology services, including digital health. CECOPS has developed outcome-based standards and currently works with approximately 200 NHS and local authority providers.
** A recording from the webinar can be accessed using the following link and by using the password below:
PASSWORD: 7g!n3?.I