How an immersive app can help both doctors and patients

Ian Bolland spoke to Dr Tim Ringrose from Cognitant to discuss the Healthinote platform which provides immersive technology to a user via an app – and via virtual reality.

The technology aims to offer a simple way for clinicians to give patients more information that they don’t necessarily have the time to provide them during a consultation. The app uses QR technology so patients can be provided with the appropriate content for their condition.

Dr Ringrose explains: “When we talk to clinicians, particularly in secondary care, they are very keen on a really simple way of being able to give information and prescription to patients. We developed the QR code idea which meant that a patient can be given a simple sheet of paper with a QR code printed on it and that enables them to download the content really easily.

“It’s digitalising the old way of being given information which actually only happens in a minority of consultations. Our research shows that in only about 30% of consultations doctors give health information for patients to take away – and that’s usually print. What we’re trying to do is digitalise it and make it much more accessible for the patients, but also to make it really easy for the clinicians.”

The QR code is scanned by a smart device or a patient is provided with a code to allow a them access to information and guidance about a specific condition or treatment. We were provided with access to more information surrounding rheumatoid arthritis. After a member of my family who has the condition trialled it, they believe having the platform available to them from their initial diagnosis would have enabled a greater understanding of the condition and its effects.

The video content, which provides an animated guide to the conditions, caters for different learning types – including visual, text and audio learners. The platform was developed in consultation with research surrounding health information given to patients.

“Across Europe it’s thought that 47% of population don’t have the educational standard to understand a typical health information leaflet.

“Using visual approaches as well as text is very important so that quite complicated concepts can be communicated to people of all ages and educational backgrounds.   

“I think it’s important not to make too many assumptions but to provide patients with information in a variety of formats that people can understand.”

The visual approach can also be accommodated in a virtual reality format, with a Google Cardboard headset available for home use.

As opposed to working centrally with the NHS, Cognitant worked with a variety of clinical groups to develop the platform including Academic Health Science Networks and different hospitals– working with different institutions on a different clinical subject.

“Plenty of pretty good technologies come along which don’t get very good uptake because it either takes a little bit of time or you’ve got to invest a lot or change management to do things differently. We’ve tried to head that off by making it really easy for doctors to use and help them save time.

“What we’ve found is that doctors really welcome it because, in particular in general practice, they’re frustrated they’ve only got less than 10 minutes for each consultation and they know they’re not answering all of the patients’ questions.”

The overriding benefit, Dr Ringrose suggests, is that more information can be given to patients from clinicians so anything that can be missed in a time constrained consultation can be accounted for – with the patient provided with the health equivalent of a Spotify playlist.

“The main benefit for clinicians in the health service is to improve the efficiency of their services and help to manage more patients remotely. I know a lot of GPs are trying to manage as many consultations by phone or video as possible. If you can provide good information alongside that you can maximise those and avoid as many face-to-face consultations as possible. There’s a lot of benefit for the patient, the health service and the clinicians.”