Orcha

Sally Rennison

4 years ago

Hull patients to benefit from collaboration between Patients Know Best and ORCHA

The patients of Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (HUTH) are to be encouraged to use technology to help them self-manage long term conditions and wait well for elective procedures.

Patients using the Patients Know Best portal to access their medical records and interact with the professional teams will be offered several opportunities, via the platform itself, to get free access to an ORCHA digital health library containing hundreds of highly rated health apps.

Once accessed, using a straightforward search function, they can input details of their condition and quickly find digital health solutions to help them monitor and manage their symptoms, plus maintain healthy lifestyles through, for example, smoking cessation and weight maintenance.

This is a first-of-its-kind offer for hospital patients, which supports the NHS priority of tackling the 6.6m elective care waiting list. It also illustrates how NHS suppliers can work together creatively and productively to support the health system.

“Patients Know Best is an exemplary platform and we’re delighted to be able to offer its users an enhanced level of support via our curated app library. It’s a fantastic example of how we can put new opportunities, literally, into the hands of patients – via their phones – when they are already online using a patient portal.

Lloyd Humphreys, managing director of ORCHA

“Recognising the role technology and data can play in empowering patients and delivering better outcomes is core to Patients Know Best’s founding mission and principle. By being able to open up more possibilities to patients to engage with technology and their data, through trusted partners like ORCHA, this digital ecosystem and supported, well-equipped patients can continue to grow. Knowing what makes good apps is key to continuing to build trust and engagement with patients, and we’re so pleased to be able to align with ORCHA who are the leaders in achieving this.”

Sally Rennison CCO at PKB

Independent research commissioned by ORCHA found that 60% of people were ready and willing to try new methods of managing their health, in order to help the NHS, including using high-quality health apps.