'PINGDEMIC CRISIS DOWN TO INCOHERENT POLICY'

As a record number of people have been told to isolate by the NHS COVID-19 app following contact with someone infected, the 'pingdemic' crisis continues to create challenges across the country.

The professional body for IT said that it was not right to blame the app for the current crisis and that a better solution would be to recalibrate and clarify government policy.

Dr Philip Scott, chair of the Health and Care Executive at BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, said: “I don't think the problem is the app, it is incoherent government policy. By removing all restrictions, it is blindingly obvious there will be more contacts and hence more pings.

“Isolation exceptions for fully vaccinated people who test negative, whether healthcare staff or other groups for economic reasons, does seem fairly pragmatic. Anecdotally, app usage is becoming very patchy now so lots of pings will never get triggered.”

MEDTECH 50 AND HEALTHTECH 50 FOR 2021

UK online technology publication, BusinessCloud called on its readers to vote for companies from the 90-strong (MedTech 50) and 110-strong (HealthTech 50) shortlists. A combination of these votes and choices from an independent judging panel determined the top 50s. 

For the MedTech 50 category, Hy-genie, a hand hygiene monitoring solution, tops the ranking after producing “exceptional” results in boosting handwashing at Alder Hey hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In fourth spot, behind Panakeia and Andiamo, is GripAble, a start-up digitising rehabilitation from hospital to home through hand-held sensors, software and data services.

The top five was rounded out by Xploro, a companion app for children undergoing cancer treatment in hospital.

19LABS AND DOCTORY LAUNCH TELEHEALTH KIOSKS

US-based smart telemedicine platform, 19Labs and UAE-based telehealth company, Doctory have entered into a partnership to bring GALE eClinics to Gulf countries and the Middle East.

GALE eClinics are point-of-care platforms for pharmacies, schools and rural communities, bringing together diagnostic technologies from different industries, to deploy smart solutions such as telehealth carts, healthcare kiosks and portable telehealth kits.  

Samer Shamsi Basha, Doctory CEO, said: "GALE allows customers to deploy full eClinics equipped with the world's most advanced diagnostic devices such as 12L ECG, ultrasound, remote exam cameras, blood testing, vital signs, pulse oximeters, spirometers, and blood pressure monitoring. It also brings together Zoom, Amwell, remote patient monitoring, and more into a cost-effective and easy-to-deploy solution that's designed to be used by non-healthcare professionals."

FUJITSU SUPPORTS AWS FOR HEALTH INITIATIVE

Fujitsu UK has announced its support of the AWS for Health initiative from Amazon Web Services (AWS) by bringing Epic in the Cloud to NHS trusts and UK healthcare providers.

The development means healthcare organisations looking to deploy Epic have the option to run the electronic patient record in the cloud.

By working with Fujitsu, the aim is to enable trusts to reduce the cost, minimise the technical risk and minimise clinical and other resources required to deploy, maintain and deliver their EPR system.  

Jamie Whysall, head of UK healthcare, Fujitsu, said: “We are pleased to support the AWS for Health initiative and to be part of a movement designed to make it easier for health and care organisations to find the right digital partners and the tools they need to address the challenges and opportunities facing them.

“This has given us the ideal opportunity to announce our Epic in the Cloud offer for the NHS and UK healthcare providers. Fujitsu has worked in collaboration with the AWS global health team to bring to life the Epic on AWS blueprint, making it possible to host Epic on AWS, located in London to support data sovereignty requirements."

ACUTE COVID APP FOR NHS STAFF

Chelsea and Westminster Hospital FT has launched Acute Covid, an app that supports NHS staff redeployed to care for COVID-19 patients.

Developed as part of the CW Innovation programme, which aims to fast-track new technologies to support patient care during the pandemic, the app was co-developed with Imagineear Health and NHS staff, to provide a comprehensive guide for medical professionals at all stages of Covid patient care.

Julia Laflin, head of healthcare at Imagineear Health, said: “We worked with the respiratory specialists at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust to turn their excellent training material and video content into a structure with clear interface design that could provide education on defining the categories of Covid, the admissions and treatment protocols as well as quick reference aid and troubleshooting guidance.”