DHACA visits Lancaster University on 23rd September – come and join us!

September 10, 2015 | by

The Digital Health & Care Alliance is holding its sixth one day event on 23rd September, at the University of Lancaster.

DHACA Days are aimed at informing members, seeking feedback on DHACA activities and encouraging special Interest Group (SIG) engagement in topics of importance to members. On this occasion we have a very special SIG event which is the launching of DHACA’s medical apps regulatory process description, which looks at all the things you need to do to get a medical app fully approved. The draft is already available for members to comment on.

In addition, in the morning we will have presentations from:

  • Prof Peter Sawyer, Professor of Software Systems Engineering, University of Lancaster:sensing cognitive health through monitoring computer interaction and through ambient technology – this is a most exciting (and I guess to some a bit scary) new area of research where you can sense someone’s cognitive health from how they use smartphones and other devices.
  • Prof Jon Whittle; Head of the School of Computing and Communications,University of Lancaster: the uses for temporary digital tattoos, and how to make them – this will in part be an interactive session in which members’ suggestions and, if appropriate, future involvement will be sought.
  • Jeremy Moyse, Strategic Development Manager, SEQOL: a provider’s view of how technology will help deliver changes in the health & care world – SEQOL is a ‘spin-out’ social enterprise formed in 2011 from the NHS Transforming Community Service programme and now delivers a broad range of health & care services in Swindon; as Jeremy will explain, it has grown massively since then, and collected a cabinet full of awards.
  • Prof Awais Rashid, University of Lancaster: secure IoT use in digital health – Prof Rashid is a world expert on this topic which has become particularly important since the FDA recently withdrew approval from an infusion pump because it was too easy to hack. He will explain the critical importance of IoT security, how to assess it and how best to achieve secure solutions.

(more…)

Fancy £35,000 to develop a Quantified Self solution to meet a real need?

September 10, 2015 | by

Innovate UK has announced , launching Monday 14 September.

As most TTA readers will be well aware, Quantified Self relates to the use of digital technology in self-tracking, monitoring and sensing to improve wellbeing. In particular the contest will be looking for solutions relating to the areas of: nutrition, older people, younger people, mental health and data capture. The winning solutions will focus on ways of empowering users to take ownership of their data to influence behaviour change and improve wellbeing.

The contest will include five challenges each offering up to £35,000 and the chance to work with one of challenge partners: Jamie Oliver, Toshiba, AXA PPP Insurance, Saga and Bupa. The winning company will trial their solution with the challenge partner over a period of three months.

The Knowledge Transfer Network is running two briefing events for this call. To register please sign up below:  (more…)

Are you an entrepreneur dreaming of riches?

September 9, 2015 | by

Well if you are, you need to come along to the free London Health Technology Forum meeting on Monday 14th September when Neil Foster, Corporate Partner in lawyers Baker Botts, and the person responsible kindly for providing the Forum with a beautifully appointed room and excellent hospitality, will be talking to us about Exits.

He will be joined by David Blair, chartered accountant and chief financial officer of a number of companies. Between them they will tell you everything a good entrepreneur needs to know about exits. Exits of course are where entrepreneurs begin to cash in on all their hard work and long hours; some become very rich.

As planning for your exit should start when you establish your company, it is critically important to know what your options are now, in time to ensure that when the time comes, you are prepared, so you can secure the maximum value for the organisation you have personally established and grown.

They will cover the following topics: (more…)

A Plum European app report

September 6, 2015 | by

plum logoFor a pleasant change, thanks to Prof Mike Short, we can share an excellent report on the app business in Europe with readers without explaining that to access it costs gadzillions. The Plum App Report gives a very level-headed yet exciting description of how apps are changing Europe and hints at some very exciting potential savings to realise from health apps, and elsewhere.

Accelerated Access Review – my blog

September 6, 2015 | by

As a member of the Stakeholder Reference Group of the Accelerated Access Review, this editor was recently invited to write a blog to encourage contributions to the review, the purpose of which is to identify actions necessary to accelerate the uptake of innovation into the NHS. It seemed a shame for the blog also not to be shared with TelecareAware readers, so here it is:

The Digital Health & Care Alliance (DHACA), of which I am Managing Director, has a strong interest in the success of the Accelerated Access Review, both because the majority of our 550-odd members work in SMEs whose very existence depends on the responsiveness of the health & care organisations in the UK, and because all of our members have a strong interest in improving patient outcomes & treatment efficiency.

One thing I’m going to be very interested in seeing emerge from the Review is the consensus on how innovators gather and use evidence to develop their product to meet the demands of the NHS and needs of patients. In DHACA we think we have a fairly clear idea about how our members go about this, however we can only claim to represent the digital health stream in the Review, and then only for small organisations. Allied to this is the much tougher question for many, particularly our smaller and more innovative members, of how to sell to the NHS. (more…)

What it takes to make telehealth really work

September 6, 2015 | by

In line with my fellow editor, forgive this editor engaging in a little nostalgia – going back to 2006, when the Whole System Demonstrator was a still a wonderful idea, before the competing forces of academia and management consultancy put short-term financial gain before long term patient outcome improvement. Those were the days when we genuinely believed that recording vital signs was what it was all about.

Move on nine years and it’s clear from the American Heart Association review referred to in this column recently, and subsequent articles, that one key success factor is drip-fed education. To quote:

“The amount of information that must be conveyed and the support that is necessary to counsel and motivate individuals to engage in behaviors to prevent CVD are far beyond what can be accomplished in the context of face-to-face clinical consultations or through traditional channels such as patient education leaflets,” the researchers say. “Mobile technologies have the potential to overcome these limitations and to transform the delivery of health-related messages and ongoing interventions targeting behavior change.”

This is underlined by a recent study of attempting to control hypertension using just text messaging, which was far from an unqualified success.

Another major driver of course is cost saving, as demonstrated by (more…)

NHS Expo & Testbeds – another view

September 6, 2015 | by

This year this editor went to NHS Expo in Manchester primarily to advise a US company, Humetrix, over the two day period, so got to see proceedings through a different lens.

Overall the event seemed to be much better attended than last year, in spite of the proximity to the Bank Holiday. Whereas last year the Future Care Zone was virtually deserted by both exhibitors and visitors, this year’s New Care Models Zone was buzzing. The Digital Zone was a particular attraction with some excellent talks, and the opportunity to meet many key people working in this area.

On the stage, the politicians painted their visions and senior health & care directors explained how these were to become a reality. This week’s NHS Networks blog, a perennial favourite of this editor, commenting on comparative performances, described Tim Kelsey as “more digital even than Mr Hunt but less binary”(reminiscent of Iain Banks’ description of lawyer LL Blawke in The Crow Road as “pencil-thin and nearly as leaden”). Of particular concern to this editor’s interests was the response to Jeremy Hunt’s commitment to enabling everyone to be able to access their detailed medical record in 2016, (more…)

Two events of interest, especially to digital health entrepreneurs

August 26, 2015 | by

Prof Mike Short has drawn my attention to two events taking place in October:

‘The cupboard is bare: how technology can address key unmet needs in mental health’ – Cambridge Wireless Healthcare SIG event – this half day Cambridge event om 13th October, hosted by Philips Research Laboratories and jointly sponsored by TTP and Plextek, will explore the needs from the perspective of the healthcare professional and patient. More details here; book here.

6th Discovering Start-Ups Competition – a brilliant opportunity to win some really valuable prizes to get your start-up really started up, pitching to an elite panel of business leaders from Deloitte, Google, BT, IBM, Cambridge Angels, London Business Angels, Qualcomm Ventures, Samsung and more. Finals will be held at Deloittes in London on 21st October. Note entries have to be submitted by 14th September at the latest.

 

Apps and wearables – developments over the summer

August 26, 2015 | by

Trying at least temporarily to distract this editor’s attention from his recent unfortunate experience with Jawbone technology, here are some interesting app and wearables snippets received over the summer.

We begin with news of the first CE certified mole checking app, SkinVision which rates moles using a simple traffic light system (using a red, orange or green risk rating). The app lets users store photos in multiple folders so they can track different moles over time. It aims to detect changing moles (color, size, symmetry etc.) that are a clear sign that something is wrong and that the person should visit a doctor immediately.

This contrasts with the findings of a paper published in June examining 46 insulin calculator apps, 45 of which were found to contain material problems, resulting in the conclusion that :”The majority of insulin dose calculator apps provide no protection against, and may actively contribute to, incorrect or inappropriate dose recommendations that put current users at risk of both catastrophic overdose and more subtle harms resulting from suboptimal glucose control.”, which to say the least of matters is worrying. (more…)

Resources dear boy, resources – useful stuff TTA has been sent recently

August 19, 2015 | by

During this editor’s brief holiday, the interesting reports really piled up, so here is a selection of what look to be the best, including a few that never got blogged previously:

G3ICT & AT&T have published an excellent new report entitled ‘The Internet of things: new promises for persons with disabilities‘

The European Parliament has produced an extremely useful compendium of articles and statistics on the silver economy: well worth reading (or at least bookmarking for writing that next EIP AHA project proposal).

If like me, use of the ‘Euro’ prefix always brings to mind the Eurosausage episode of Yes Minister, prepare to be pleasantly surprised by this new online database of digital services for carers of older people jointly produced by Eurocarers and the EC’s Joint Research Centre, and hosted by Eurocarers. This offers access to 78 good practices of digital services for older care at home.

Ofcom’s 2015 Communications Market Report is essential reading for anyone working in (more…)

My Jawbone saga just got much worse: UP3

August 19, 2015 | by | 1 Comment

Readers may recall this editor’s most recent blast against Jawbone in which I complained about being emailed by them about a product I couldn’t buy. Well in due course I got a nice email from Jawbone, explaining the error and extolling the UP3, that I could buy. So nice that I relented and bought one.

Big mistake: my three UP bracelets that failed have lasted an average of some seven months each. The UP3 lasted just eight days before it stopped recording sleep correctly (an even shorter time than the two weeks the preproduction UP3 took to stop working when on trial by re/code).

Initial problem handling by Jawbone support has always been good – I can only assume they get lots of practice – and indeed I got an email straight back telling me how to do a ‘soft reset’ (These have never worked for me for any of the problems I’ve had, with either UP type of bracelet; perhaps it gets some people to give up.). When I told them it hadn’t worked, this was followed quickly by an email 10 working days ago telling me that they were referring my problem to colleagues and to expect a response within 2-3 working days.

Since when nothing: my emails have gone unresponded to, and I have heard nothing further. If this poor quality is the experience of others too (certainly some), then it’s clearly no wonder why FierceMobileHealthcare refer to Jawbone as one of six companies collectively making up 15 percent of the market with Apple & Fitbit way ahead.

It’s such a shame too, because in spite of the problems, my Jawbones, when they have worked, have been great motivators that have helped me lose over 12 kilos now – unlike the suggestions in the recent Guardian artcle, I’m sold on being nudged. I just need something I can rely on to nudge me!

Events dear boy, events: a roundup of UK digital health stuff this autumn

August 18, 2015 | by

This editor accumulated vast piles of notifications when on a two week holiday recently – here is the cream of the events notified. More to follow on resources shortly.

Between 4-6th September, SECC Glasgow is holding what it claims is the first ever medical education hackathon.

On the 14th September the free-to-attend London Health Technology Forum, organised by this editor, has an evening devoted to Exits (of the financially very lucrative kind). Baker Botts’ experienced lawyers will describe with examples the different exits available to the successful entrepreneur, why it’s important to plan ahead, and what the plusses and minuses are of each type of exit. Essential knowledge if you hope to become rich from your hard work & dedication.

On 17th September, KPMG are holding a free all-day event entitled ‘Information Protection in Digital Health’ at (more…)

Events for your diary, your CV and perhaps your bottom line

July 16, 2015 | by

This editor has recently been overwhelmed by important dates near and far that readers needs to be aware of. Beginning with July, the first networking event for the Long Term Care Revolution SBRI National Challenge will take place in Birmingham on 21st July at the Menzies Hotel, Birmingham. Click here to register. The second networking event will take place on the 28th July at The Thistle Marble Arch. Register here

This SBRI competition aims to stimulate the development of innovative new products, services and systems that disrupt the institutional long-term care model, ensuring that UK businesses are well placed to take advantage of this growing market opportunity. A total of £4m is up for grabs so (more…)

I’m finally losing faith in Jawbone

July 10, 2015 | by

A couple of days ago this editor got yet another promotion for a Jawbone product – UP4 – that he cannot buy. This time however, things were different.

Not only were the links both to find out more about, and to buy, the product broken, the UP4 isn’t even in the UK Jawbone store. Thankfully “Caitlyn” from “Jawbone Customer Care” did reply to my email, to give me standard blurb on the product explaining that it is linked to an American Express account to offer contactless payment. She also commented that it “is currently available for purchase in the US” so why the email was sent to a European she did not bother to explain, or seemingly, even care (they should know my address as they’ve used it often – see below). If this experience is repeated by other wearable suppliers, no wonder there continues to be a high level of abandonment among purchasers.

Now this editor has been after a posher UP ever since the new tracker that captures heart rate etc – the UP3 – was announced, seemingly many months back now, and so any email like this gets me excited, encouraging me to click ‘customise’ in the Jawbone store, only then to be told when I click through that it’s ‘coming soon’. and indeed it still is, apparently (even though Amazon now says it’ll be in stock by (more…)

Billy & Lisa Graham, killed in Tunisia last Friday

June 30, 2015 | by | 1 Comment

So often when you read of dreadful things happening, it is easy to make light because there is no personal connection.

It is therefore with particular sadness that we have to report the untimely deaths of both Billy Graham and his wife Lisa in the shooting in Tunisia last Friday.

Billy was well loved and respected in the industry, working in Scotland as Business Development Manager for Tynetec, and previously with Chubb. As such, even if readers did not know him personally, there is a high probability that they will have attended many conferences and exhibitions where he was also present.

Telehealth & Telecare Aware sends our deepest condolences to the Graham family and friends.