DHACA home testing webinar 20th May 10am–next one 3 June

May 19, 2020 | by

DHACA is running its eighth WebinarWednesday on 20th May 10am on the topic of home testing. One of the two main themes of our webinars to date has been how technology can minimise face:face clinical interactions with patients whilst simultaneously improving patient outcomes and reducing costs.

This webinar continues that theme by showing how after electronic triage and remote consultation, a growing number of tests, of blood, urine, skin etc., can continue to be used to minimise face:face engagement, as well as improving patient access to prompt testing. We will look at the challenges and the benefits through the eyes of four brilliant speakers.

More details here, register here.

From Editor Donna: DHACA will have its ninth #WebinarWednesday on 3 June at 10am UK time. The topic is how best to promote technology to carers in the light of the pandemic. Editor Charles will be part of a panel discussion. More details and registration are right here.

Doing more for less in primary care – DHACA’s Wednesday webinars on 22 and 29 April

April 20, 2020 | by

DHACA restarts our webinar series after Easter Week with a panel of three contrasting suppliers of GP process improvement (aka “total triage”) software and the NHS England expert on the topic, at 10am on Wednesday. In our first Webinar, huge potential benefits were identified from use of this software, which is particularly well suited to the requirement of the current pandemic that face:face consultations be avoided where possible.

However the benefits don’t stop there. Patients, clinicians and practice managers all benefit hugely…and I can speak from personal experience as my local surgery converted recently and has never looked back! We’ll be exploring these benefits in more detail the following Wednesday 29th April in the following webinar when users – both professionals and patients – describe their experiences of the software, and the challenges implementing it.

For more information and to book for this week’s webinar go here and for next week’s (29 April) go here.

We have more exciting webinars coming up, including self-testing to reduce face:face GP consultations further so keep an eye on DHACA’s Webinar listing for when they are published.

Digital triage in health service – CQC’s initial recommendations

January 23, 2020 | by

This is a brief alert to readers that the CQC has publicised its initial recommendations from its review of the use of digital triage services.

The CQC defines digital triage tools as software that tells a patient what to do or where to go next in their care pathway. It can be software that:

  • supports clinicians to make decisions
  • supports non-clinical staff to interact with patients
  • people interact with themselves

This is an important area requiring regulatory clarification as it sits at the interface between medical devices regulated by the MHRA and medical services regulated by the CQC…and patients are increasingly being impacted by it.

Key findings are:

  • care providers and local systems need better guidance and support from national bodies when they commission technology suppliers and set up contracts – a standard test of the effectiveness of triage algorithms would help providers and systems choose the best products
  • digital triage tools should help people to get care in the right place at the right time, and should not prevent this – clinicians should be able to override the recommendations from these tools when they think it is in a person’s best interest
  • people need to understand the difference between a digital triage tool that checks their symptoms and one that directs them to a regulated healthcare service – they also need clearer guidance on how to use them.
  • there is a need to understand how safeguarding can work when people are using digital interfaces instead of humans
  • technology suppliers that don’t need to register with CQC should meet all other relevant regulatory requirements when developing clinical pathways for triage tools – this area has limited assurance or regulation, reinstating the accreditation scheme from NICE or something similar would help
  • the insight and data from digital triage tools provide an excellent opportunity to improve care – there is a need to work collectively to understand how best to do this

The full report is here.

This is the first use by the CQC of the “regulatory sandbox” approach: a way of testing how best to regulate new types of services by working collaboratively to find out about them. As someone who was briefly engaged in the process, this Editor considers it to be potentially an extremely impressive way of coming up with practical regulations, and avoiding unworkable proposals.

The next step will be to develop the detailed proposals based on the above.

Calling all digital health entrepreneurs: DHACA Day on 18th March is for you!

January 23, 2020 | by

If you’re struggling with the many challenges of how to grow your digital health business fast, DHACA, sponsored by the AHSN Network, is at hand to help. Specifically on 18th March we have assembled an outstanding group of speakers to help you get to know NHSX and its priorities, to build AI into your product or service, to position yourself to benefit most from the current emphasis on longevity, to understand how the cabinet office can help, how data privacy legislation may change post Brexit, what Babylon is doing, how the AHSNs can help and much, much more. You only have to pay for lunch! You will also get to hear how you can access a wide range of in depth business services free, due to the generosity of our sponsors.

The event is being held courtesy of Baker Botts in their offices very close to Bank Tube station in London. 

Please click here to see more detail and to book.

(Disclosure: this Editor is also CEO of DHACA)

Calling all pitchers! Join us at Baker Botts on 5th February for a great evening

December 18, 2019 | by

Baker Botts (UK) LLP, in association with the Digital Health & Care Alliance and Ascendant Corporate Finance, invites you to join them for the DHACA/HTF fourth annual pitch event on Wednesday 5 February 2020 at their London office close to Bank tube station. The evening will feature a number of healthtech/medtech sector companies presenting their business for five minutes each, followed by two minutes of Q&A from the audience and panel of funders. Prizes will be awarded by Baker Botts Partner, Neil Foster, to the most fundable company and best presentation (as voted on by the panel and audience). Attendance is free.

Stuart McKnight, Managing Director of Ascendant Corporate Finance, will be the keynote speaker and will discuss key venture investment trends in the digital health and medtech sectors including highlighting the biggest deals and the most active investors.

We are particularly keen to have the best companies pitching so if your company would like an opportunity to pitch at this event, please download a copy of the pitch form by clicking here and return it as soon as possible it to Abigail Brookes at abigail.brookes@bakerbotts.com and definitely by Friday 10 January 2020. This event is also a great opportunity to meet and network with like-minded people, organisations and investors.

In order to qualify to pitch, you should be a private company within the healthtech or medtech sector, seeking funding within the next year. Successful applicants will be informed no later than w/c 13 January 2020.

Finally just to add that the Digital Health and Care Alliance is also running our next DHACA Day at Baker Botts on 18th March – you can book here, now. The agenda is in active development so keep checking.

Last call for DHACA Day on 9th November, plus an excellent RSM event on 3rd December

October 29, 2019 | by

Two quick notifications:

DHACA Day

The Digital Health & Care Alliance’s next quarterly update for medtech entrepreneurs is coming up on 9th November in London, with just ten spaces left. Covering all the hot areas that those working in the digital health & care sector need to be concerned about, it is kindly sponsored by Baker Botts and Kent Surrey & Sussex AHSN to ensure you get great value from the event. For more information, and to book, go here.

Behavioural science for better outcomes in health and care services

The Royal Society of Medicine is running a one day conference on how to use behavioural science to develop, optimise and evaluate a digital health intervention on 3rd December. The RSM name attracts the world’s best speakers and their charitable status means that prices are cut to the bone so this is guaranteed to be a great day. More details and to book are here.

(Disclosure: Editor Charles is involved with both the above organisations)

Telecare – time to sweat the analogue assets, not dump them

September 16, 2019 | by | 4 Comments

Veteran Editor Charles climbs on his soapbox, one more time.

There must have been a moment, somewhere, when a bronze age warrior realised that iron really cut the mustard (and other things) better. Unfortunately, that resulting genetic preference for new over old has left us open to the blandishments of salespeople through the ages, encouraging us to take every opportunity to buy new and cast out old.

And it costs! A current example is the drive by many telecare companies to use the digitalisation of the telecoms network in the UK to encourage users to ditch their analogue equipment in favour of their new shiny digital kit…when there’s no need. The telecare world has of course an honourable tradition of encouraging box shifting – back when I ran a telecare programme at LB Newham, in 2007 the government was encouraged to offer a Preventive Technology Grant to all local authorities. Perhaps the most memorable campaign though was Three Million Lives which, from the outside, appeared to have that one aim. Indeed there must be few telecare consultants who have not at some point in their career opened a cupboard to find the shelves heaving with unused – and sadly in a few cases unusable – kit.

Wise telecare providers will resist the current pressures though – both BT and Virgin have been provided with a wide range of old analogue telecare kit to test in their digital simulators alongside the appropriate digital/analogue converters and, I am reliably informed, it has worked well every time. Some companies, I am told, may not have taken full advantage of these facilities and only tested their new digital offerings, whilst ignoring analogue; I’ll leave the reader to work out why they might have done that. This is important because telecare kit is built to last and whilst some service users will benefit from the latest tech wizardry, most will be completely happy with the older kit – indeed those with dementia may find it impossible to get used to any new kit, providing one more incentive not to change. The original cost of that analogue kit must conservatively be well over £500 million, so it would seem to be a crying shame just to dump it whilst it still works well – indeed with local authority budgets as they are, it effectively would hugely reduce their ability to provide a service for all who want it.

There is of course one potential issue, as no power comes down the fibre telecoms lines, unlike with copper, so the service could fail in a blackout. However I understand that both BT and Virgin are working on solutions to this. GSM alarms, supposedly the future, are also vulnerable; indeed apparently this already happened a a few weeks back when the country suffered widespread power outages, when mobile networks failed in some areas. I understand that many masts don’t currently have a power back-up for such occasions and those that do only last 30 minutes.

So, if you are responsible for a telecare provision budget and a nice salesperson pops by to encourage you to switch out your old, ask them how their old kit behaved in the network simulations when paired with an appropriate converter.

If they tell you anything other than that it went really well, look askance. If they say they haven’t tested their old kit, ask them why not.

Digital Mental Health for Adults – a one day conference at the RSM on 23 September 2019 in London

September 6, 2019 | by

The next event run by the Royal Society of Medicine’s Digital Health Council, on 23rd September, focuses on digital mental health for people over 18. There are two main sides in the high level discussion around this topic. There is an increasingly active (and commercially burgeoning) group of companies and individuals who believe that there are a digital tools that can help to screen, manage and in some cases treat people with mental health issues (or who suspect they may have one). Some of these are simply ways of digitally enabling remote conversations between mental health care providers and those that require advice or care. Some are AI driven tools that to some degree replace the human element of care and support. The event will discuss whether this not only addresses workforce issues but also delivers clinical efficacy.

On the other hand, many believe that the use of digital technologies can adversely affect the mental health of people who use them, often to excess. Do the potential benefits outweigh these negative factors, or is a digital detox something that your GP may soon be prescribing?

Come along and get involved! Booking is here – tickets start at £20 (RSM student rate) for the day including a delightful lunch.

Come and listen to Julian Hitchcock talking regulation next Wednesday 17th July!

July 11, 2019 | by

Julian Hitchcock, ably assisted by Zac Fargher, has kindly agreed to spend an evening updating people on the regulation of medical and in vitro devices at a joint DHACA/Heath Technology Forum London meeting on Wednesday 17th July.

This comes at a time of huge uncertainty so Julian and Zac’s advice will be especially important for members: in addition to Brexit, the Notified Body capacity crisis is imperiling the implementation dates of both the MDR in 2020, and the IVDR after that.

Anyone following this editor’s recommendations will already be aware of Julian’s presentational clarity and depth, and his very humourous style.

Booking is here. Please try to arrive at 6.15 pm on 17th July so we can get started promptly at 6.30 pm. Julian and Zac will speak until 8pm, after which there will be time for networking drinks, kindly sponsored by Bristows, who are also generously hosting us for the evening.

Do come and join us!

Next DHACA Day 9th July, London – seeking new members (psst–it’s free)

May 16, 2019 | by

DHACA, the Digital Health and Care Alliance, with some 850 members currently, is having a new membership drive among SMEs working in the UK’s digital health & care space, following the kind offering of new sponsorship by Kent Surrey and Sussex AHSN and UCL Partners. 

The organisation’s objective is to help members develop their innovative products and services commercially, to achieve successful sales to the NHS. DHACA works right across the UK.

If you aren’t a member, you can sign up here to ensure you are kept aware of important news and of DHACA events. Membership is entirely free and members’ details will of course never be passed on to any other organisation.

Whether or not you are currently a member, booking is now open for the next DHACA Day. This event is primarily aimed at informing members working in the digital health & care sector of the major recent changes they need to be aware of, and how best to navigate them to make greater sales to the NHS and other health & care organisations. There is a small charge of £30+VAT to provide lunch, otherwise all other costs will kindly be covered by the event Sponsors, Baker Botts, in whose premises at 41 Lothbury (the opposite side of the Bank of England to the Bank Tube) it will be held.

The draft agenda includes talks by Luke Pratsides, Clinical Lead, Digital Development, NHS England about NHSX, Sam Shah, Director of Digital Development at NHS England and James Maguire, Clinical Advisor in Digital Innovation & AI at NHSX on NHS England’s digital development strategy, Mark Salmon, Programme Director, NICE on their HealthTech Connect and Evidence Standards, Neil Foster, Partner, Baker Botts on Finance for digital health start-ups, Neil Coulson, Partner, Baker Botts, on IP protection and the GDPR, Rob Berry, Commercial Director, UCL Partners on how the AHSNs can help SMEs and much more. Neil McGuire, Clinical Director of Devices, MHRA, has also been invited to update attendees on MDR implementation – a most important topic.

DHACA is keen to get members’ views on how they’d like it to be organised and governed in order to deliver what members want, so there will be time in the middle of the day for this too.

Should be a great day!

(Disclosure: this Editor is also DHACA CEO) 

 

Win the Trillium II prize and get €1,000!

April 18, 2019 | by

The Trillium II EU project has just extended the deadline for entries to the Trillium II prize to 15th May, so there’s still plenty of time to enter. The prize of €1000 will go to the organisation that comes up with the best proposal to publicise and deploy the International Patient Summary (IPS). This is an internationally-agreed standard for summarising a person’s health record – as it is adopted worldwide, wherever someone is in the world a clinician will be able instantly to see and understand the main aspects of that person’s health record. This will particularly result in improved patient outcomes, faster treatment, lower healthcare costs and reduced medical errors. It will be of particular interest to readers whose products or services access local health records, as it should mean that in future they no longer need tailoring to the specifics of those records.

Details are here – note that to enter you will need to contact Lene Taustrup at lta@medcom.dk

To date, not many entries have been completed, so the probability of winning with a new entry could be high.

(Disclosure: this editor is CEO of DHACA, the Digital Health & Care Alliance, which is a participant in this EC-funded project).

RSM’s Medical apps: mainstreaming innovation with Matt Hancock

February 28, 2019 | by

This event on 4 April run by the Royal Society of Medicine’s Digital Health Section continues the successful series started by this editor (now no longer involved) seven years ago. It will examine the growing role that apps are playing in healthcare delivery.

Join colleagues to hear renowned speakers, including the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Matt Hancock, discuss the current and future part apps can play in the NHS and broader healthcare industry. We will hear Wendy Clarke, executive director at NHS Digital talk about the new NHS app. As apps move from concept to pilot to practice, demonstrating efficacy becomes increasingly important, so will be looking at how we can best assess clinical effectiveness. It is well recognised that poorly designed software can hamper rather than enhance healthcare. Matt Edgar Head of design for NHS Digital will talk of the importance of good design in medical apps, and how it can improve patient and clinician experience. The use of cutting edge technology in healthcare necessarily opens new regulatory and legal issues. We are pleased to have our legal counsel, Julian Hitchcock back to share his experience with this, with a particular focus on the use of artificial intelligence in healthcare. We will also be examining the importance of interoperability, as medical apps become more mainstream, and how to make this happen. We have some presentations, too, from new and established medical start-ups, showcasing the transformative effects these new technologies can have. Finally, we will take a look at what the future may hold with futurologist Lewis Richards, Chief Digital Officer of Servest.

Aims:

This meeting aims to: 

  • Encourage clinicians to consider medical apps when deciding on an appropriate intervention
  • Aid understanding of the medicolegal issues around medical app use
  • Reduce the fear, uncertainty and doubt about the use of medical apps

Objectives:

By the end of this meeting, delegates will be able to,

  • Have an understanding of the current state of the art of medical apps
  • Explain the latest position on regulation and endorsement of medical apps
  • Have an appreciation of how to assess the clinical effectiveness of medical apps. 

Book here – best to book soon too, as currently the RSM has not allocated the largest lecture theatre to the event so it will almost certainly sell out.

A selection of short digital health items of potential interest

February 8, 2019 | by

Editor Charles has taken time off recently from assessing mHealth apps to give us a selection of short news items and event notifications.

CE and FDA certification

This editor recently stumbled over the first list he’s ever seen of approved digital health medical devices. As of today there are some 151 products on there which is hugely impressive. One of the reasons for the relatively poor showing of CE certifications on the list is that there is no official list yet: latest forecasts for Eudamed, which will provide this, are Spring 2020 amid much uncertainty about whether enough Notified Bodies will be approved to certify to the MDR in time. Immediately spotted as a CE certification missing is Walk with Path’s Path Finder device for helping people with Parkinson’s to avoid a freezing of their gait (though CE certification is well hidden on their website) and doubtless there are others. Clearly the list points up potential benefits were it ever possible to harmonise the approval process across the Pond.

Longevity 

The first Longevity Leaders event took place on Monday, perhaps the first large event in the UK on that topic. Based on the enthusiasm of attendees, clearly it won’t be the last. Doubtless in due course it will fragment into a myriad of specialist topics though currently it is a fascinating combination of almost every medical/pharmaceutical and digital discipline, plus housing and a range of other considerations. Timescales varied widely too – for example I talked about the immediate benefits of digital health including keeping people in their own homes, thus minimising sarcopenia from being confined to a hospital bed and avoiding exacerbating dementia by a change of environment, whereas others spoke of how best to make DNA immortal and whether the first person destined to live to 1000 had already been born.

Clinical  Homecare

From the sublime (last item) to the The National Clinical Homecare Association‘s conference on 31st January, where this Editor also spoke on how digital health could help people to be treated in their own homes. Notable was the absence of any Twitter handle for the Association, no hashtag for the conference and just two people it seemed out of 250 using social media. Clearly there are huge opportunities here for digital health suppliers, particularly as so much of what was said by other speakers, and what was being shown in the exhibition was very much manually-intensive stuff: join the NCHA and start a revolution in clinical homecare! 

Recent developments in AI

Since this editor stopped active involvement in conference organisation for the Royal Society of Medicine it is encouraging to see that the younger generation has picked up the baton and is running even harder, such that the above event, on 26th February, has proved so popular that it has been moved to the largest (300 seater) lecture theatre at the Society, and on current sign-up rate will sell out.  Speakers from Babylon, Ada Health, DeepMind, Kheiron Medical, BenevolentAI, UCL Life Sciences & Alan Turing AI partnership, and many more will ensure that delegates gain a comprehensive understanding of how AI is being used across healthcare. Book here to experience the delights of the new RSM all-new website which makes signing up for an event so much easier than in the past. Fear not though: the RSM’s legendary low ticket costs are maintained!

Wayra and Novartis

A most exciting event this week was the announcement of the joint Wayra and Novartis health call now looking for their next cohort of remarkable start-ups to join their new programme called The Health Hub. This is built together with their new partner Novartis, one of the leading pharma companies. Their focus is on how healthtech can be used drastically to innovate long-term disease management. Apply here, by February 17th. Hat tip to Professor Mike Short for this item and other observations in this post .

Rewired Pitchfest

Early health tech entrepreneurs should consider taking part in the Rewired Pitchfest at the Digital Health Rewired Conference and Exhibition, Olympia London on 26 March. Sponsored by Silver Buck, this provides the opportunity for early stage digital health start-ups to showcase their disruptive ideas and prototypes to NHS IT leaders. Applicants will compete before a judging panel featuring investors and successful start-up founders. It’s a great way to gain significant exposure and make connections with a diverse range of UK digital health leaders…and the winner will be announced, and congratulated, by Matt Hancock himself! There is also the chance of winning a mentoring programme with the experts on the judging panel and PR features in Digital Health News. (Disclosure: this editor is on the Programme Committee of Rewired, as well as being a Pitch judge)

Punning headlines

It’s rare that a single item is worthy of its own paragraph on TTA these days however an exception must surely be made for one of the few punning headlines to be found in digital health, especially as it’s for such an old – and until now undelivered – idea: “Smart toilet seat is flush with possibilities to monitor patients’ health”

The most important event in two weeks’ time: the Future of Medicine on June 13th at the RSM!

May 30, 2018 | by

In two weeks’ time, Donald Trump may meet Kim Jong-Un in Singapore and the World Cup will begin, though even more importantly the Royal Society of Medicine will be holding its fourth Future of Medicine event in partnership with the Institute of Engineering and Technology: on June 13th to be precise.

The full title is the Future of Medicine: the role of doctors in 2028.  The conference will explore just how far the delivery of health and care will be improved by the availability of new technology over the next decade, and what the latest predictions are by those working in the field of how this will change the way medicine will really be practised. It is aimed primarily at senior executives in the health and care world whose decisions today will hasten – or hinder – the arrival of improved technology-enabled care, though it’s relevant to anyone with an interest in knowing what’s happening at the cutting edge of how medical technology is changing medicine.

One area of focus will be training doctors to work in this new world: Professor Joanne Martin will describe how Barts are tackling this, and Dr Jean Nehme will describe how technology can specifically help train surgeons. Dr Harpreet Sood (not yet in the published programme) has kindly offered to talk about how the NHS Digital Academy fits into the picture. The future of the profession will be explored by Dr Will Cavendish, now at Arup,  and Professor Pali Hungin.

AI is a key topic running through the event, for which Dr Clare Novorol of Ada.com and Dr Richard Dybowski of Cambridge University will offer contrasting views and Dr Vishal Nangalia will look specifically at its impact on surgery. Promoting innovation is clearly key, and our distinguished ‘regular’, Professor Tony Young will give another of his high-intensity presentations on it.  Speakers on specific key relevant topics will include Professor Rachel McKendry on rapid diagnostic tests, Dr James Wollard on changing the way mental health is managed and Professor Ijeoma Uchegbu on the future of nanomedicine. Finally, wrapping it all up, Andy Wilkins, Consultant, and Chris Burghes, CEO, The Royal Free Charity, will describe the new vision they have been developing of the future of person-centred care. 

Another great day, in short, and at the usual very low cost RSM rates!

For more information, and to book, click here.

(Disclosure, this editor was involved in putting together this conference.)

Upcoming London events–a few suggestions

March 28, 2018 | by

Here are three upcoming events in London that readers may be interested in.

The Royal Society of Medicine’s mHealth Apps conference, 19th April

This, the sixth such annual event, brings together the good and the great in the medical apps world to inform you of recent and expected developments in evaluation, regulation, legislation, behaviour change and assessment, as well as some heartening stories of successful apps. Presenters will include Alexia Tonnel of NICE, Neil McGuire from MHRA and Hazel Jones from NHS Digital alongside Prof Jeremy Wyatt, giving an academic view, Julian Hitchcock, a European regulatory view and Dr Richard Brady his not-to-be-missed “Bad Apps” exploration of the dark side of medical technology.  Book here.

Bridging the Gap, 2nd May, Wellcome Collection, London

Join Commercial Directors from across the AHSN Network on Wednesday 2 May 2018 for a range of 1:1 advice sessions, workshops and networking opportunities at the AHSN Network’s fully subsidised “Bridging the Gap” event that’s open to all health technology companies.Delegates will be able to get advice about how to make their engagement with the NHS sharper and more cost effective. That means understanding how decisions are made in the NHS, who makes the decisions and how to get their attention. They’ll also provide opportunities to test and and develop your value proposition, budget impact model and your approach to evaluation and case study development. Book here.

Confirmed AHSNs taking part include: Eastern, HIN, ICHP, Kent Surrey Sussex, South West, West Midlands, West of England, UCLPartners, Yorkshire and Humber. National organisations also taking part and supporting the event include: NHS England, NICE and NIHR.

The Future of Medicine; the role of doctors in 2028, on 13th June

This, the fourth annual event on this topic from the RSM, will focus on how technology is likely to change the way medicine is delivered over the next ten years. This year we have three speakers focusing on how technology is affecting the way medicine is taught, and how medical students are being taught differently, to enable them to be most effective in this new world. Should be essential attendance for digital health executives looking for new inspiration!

Presenters include Professor Jo Martin, Professor of Pathology, Queen Mary University of London, Director of Academic Health Sciences, Barts Health NHS Trust, and President Royal College of Pathologists, and Will Cavendish who was the senior Civil Servant in the Office of Life Sciences (OLS) when George Freemen (a previous presenter at this event) was heading the OLS. Book here.

Disclosure: Charles Lowe is ex-President of the RSM’s Telemedicine Section and was involved in setting up both the above RSM events.

A fistful of topical events

November 16, 2017 | by

The London Health Technology Forum has just announced the details of its Christmas evening meeting on 13th December. Star turn will be the seasonally-appropriate Andrew Nowell, CEO of Pitpatpet who has a brilliant story to tell of how an activity tracker can unlock so many revenue sources. Attendees will also unlock mince pies, courtesy of longstanding host Baker Botts, and a roundup of key digital health changes in 2017 from this editor.

NICE Health App Briefings: NICE has finally published the end result of its review of three health apps on their Guidance & Advice list. Given that digital health is so much faster moving than pharma, it is disappointing that these apps appear to be being judged to a very high level of evidence requirement.

For example Sleepio, whose evidence for  effectiveness “is based on 5 well-designed and well-reported randomised controlled trials and 1 large prospective unpublished audit” is still judged, in terms of clinical effectiveness, as “has potential to have a positive impact for adults with poor sleep compared with standard care. There is good quality evidence that Sleepio improves sleep but the effect size varies between studies, and none of the studies compared Sleepio with face-to-face cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT‑I).”

This editor is unaware of any other app that has five good RCTs under its belt so (more…)