An app which helps people manage their health conditions and was jointly developed by Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust and local company Health and Care Innovations (HCI), has won a national Building Better Healthcare Award for best patient-centred healthcare software.
The innovative app, CONNECTPlus, helps people to manage multiple health conditions from their own phone or device, day or night, wherever they are. It provides 24/7 access to a range of features including symptom trackers, medication management and appointment reminders, as well as accredited information and content provided by their own doctors and other healthcare professionals.
Since introducing the app for rheumatology and neurology patients, calls to department helplines have almost halved, as patients are finding answers to their queries in the app. The amount of time nurses spend in medication clinics has reduced from four hours a week to just 30 minutes. This frees up their time to see patients who need urgent treatment. Staff are also able to better structure clinics and patients are better able to manage their conditions for themselves.
Winners were selected by a judging panel chaired by Roy Lilley, a founder member of the NHS Trust Federation and named among the Sunday Times’ Debrett’s list of the top 500 most influential people in the UK. Commenting on the CONNECTPlus app, judges said: “What started out as a solution covering just one clinical area is now helping people with a range of conditions and that is to be applauded.”
Dr Matt Halkes, Clinical Director of Innovation and Digital Transformation and Consultant Anaesthetist at Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust, and Clinical Director of Health and Care Innovations (HCI) said: “CONNECTPlus, was developed through a unique partnership and real team working between doctors, patients and the software development specialists at HCI. Together, we have produced a tool that patients can keep with them in their pockets, wherever they go, to access the help they need when they need it. We are thrilled to have won this national award, which recognises that here in Devon we have pioneered a healthcare tool that can be tailored to the needs of patients and healthcare services, not just in Devon but nationwide – and indeed in other healthcare systems in other countries.”
Ellen Jenkins, Director at HCI added ” We are delighted that CONNECTPlus has been recognised for being specially designed with and for patients, as well as its ability to bring about efficiencies by improving tracking of disease, access to medical information and medication adherence. This really means a lot to us as a team and I am very proud of everyone involved.”
You can find out more about the impact of CONNECTPlus on the HCI website.
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