NHS-linked apps could improve patient access to healthcare

Medical technology, including apps to help monitor the health of patients, could help alleviate the pressure on the NHS, according to a new report by Zühlke. The firm found that the largest portion of patients would trust such a digital solution, provided that it came from their healthcare supplier – with most also stating they felt other apps or websites providing such information would be unreliable.

With waiting lists for patients on the under-resourced National Health Service once again reaching crisis levels, healthcare professionals are under pressure to do more with less. Amid this, a growing number of reports from professional services firms suggest digital health solutions are a significant opportunity for healthcare providers, MedTech companies, and pharmaceutical firms around the world – and with the UK’s unique position, given that the publicly-funded NHS is the primary provider, that goes double. With the country’s centralised health system, the UK has the data and infrastructure at its disposal to be at the forefront of a digital health revolution, these papers claim.

However, historically, the UK's healthcare sector has faced challenges in adopting digital technology. Slow uptake has been influenced by factors such as inadequate funding, questions of privacy and patient security, and the reluctance to change work practices within an already constrained system. Additionally, with introducing the private sector into the NHS still a major bone of contention with the electorate, the political context of any proposed strategies have contributed to the stilted progress.

According to a new survey from Zühlke, however, there are key areas where patients would find digitised health services palatable, and which could ease many pressures on the NHS. Polling 1,000 people across the UK to uncover their health-related behaviours, preferences, and attitudes towards digital health solutions, the researchers discovered that 43% of respondents had either struggled, or been unable, to obtain health services in the last six months. While 39% found it ‘somewhat challenging’, 4% tried and failed to get any access. At the same time, 24% did not seek healthcare in the same period.

The amount of time it is taking to reach first points of contact – either at overloaded A&E rooms, or backlogged GP surgeries – meant that the majority people were heading to the internet to seek diagnosis and or treatment in that period. A 37% portion ‘somewhat agreed’ to having sought advice on the internet instead of going to a medical professional, while 18% ‘strongly agreed’.

This poses clear and obvious risks. The quality of information available on un-regulated sources on the internet could risk patients ignoring serious conditions, or mis-treating them with dangerous materials. Many consumers are aware of this, and 53% said they agreed to some extent that digital means were poor ways of accurately measuring their health at present. But with the current NHS crisis, it is clear that many people are looking beyond these fears out of desperation for some kind of answers.

As things stand, this is a very serious situation. But Zühlke’s figures also suggest they present opportunities to health providers. Asked if they would feel comfortable with information from a health-management app provided by their healthcare provider, 49% of respondents agreed to some extent. In contrast, 30% of people disagreed to some extent.

In this case, if the NHS were to collaborate with digital health providers, it could find ways to supply accurate means of monitoring health to patients across the country – giving easier access to healthcare solutions, while also helping to diminish the number of patients on waiting lists.

Commenting via Zühlke’s website, James Graveston, a principal business consultant with the firm, said, “In the medium-term, the UK needs a unified method for adopting digital services which provides turnkey procurement, deployment, and remuneration pathways for both the organisations that develop MedTech solutions and those eager to obtain them. In parallel, it would make sense to enhance the NHS app with add-on features that would transform it into a digital health hub rather than an appointment scheduling and medical records storage tool.”