Q&A: Developing symptom assessment technology for COVID-19

Ian Bolland posed some question Rupert Spiegelberg, CEO of Doctorlink, which provides symptom assessment for a variety of conditions including COVID-19. Spiegelberg answers questions on developing the technology for the pandemic and how the industry landscape could look beyond it.  

The algorithms have been updated 15 times for COVID-19. How much of a challenge has it been to keep them updated?

Doctorlink has enough heritage to have experienced earlier pandemics, including MERS in 2012. As a result of this experience, Doctorlink had a unique vantage point when COVID-19 first appeared on the global stage. We knew that healthtech had an essential role to play in triaging potential coronavirus cases and freeing up clinician resource to focus on critical cases. As a result, we began developing algorithms to identify potential and likely cases back in January before the novel Coronavirus reached the UK - and weeks before any other provider did the same.

Ensuring the algorithm reflects the current best practice and guidance has been essential to ensure we can continue to support the NHS and maximise available GP capacity. Our team of expert clinicians have invested many hours into keeping our platforms updated in line with new knowledge of the virus, but we believe the benefits to the NHS are well worth the investment.

Given we’re increasingly learning new things about Coronavirus in the UK, how can you be sure the solution you offer is as accurate as it can be?

At Doctorlink, we employ a team of expert clinicians who specialise in emergency medicine and triage. They work closely with our technicians and product team to ensure our algorithms combine the best in medical and technical knowledge.

We take the approach of combining Bayesian logic – the form of critical thinking used by doctors to reach a correct diagnosis – with AI learning to drive continuous improvement of the methodology. This is a unique approach in a market dominated by AI-chatbots, which use a trial-and-error approach to learning that can lead to bad outcomes for patients.

By contrast, Doctorlink’s algorithms are so advanced that the technology is classified as a Medical Equipment device and is medico-legal compliant and indemnified with rigorous clinical governance and licensed independent peer review.

What do you think healthtech/medtech is going to look like post-pandemic? Do you see digital transformation being accelerated further?

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about one of the biggest challenges healthcare practitioners have ever faced and undoubtedly this crisis will be a pivotal moment in re-shaping the provision and delivery of healthcare across the world.

To date, healthcare has been slow to adopt new technologies for understandable reasons, but COVID-19 has changed the balance of demand and supply so greatly that there is now far greater willingness to accept a more digital experience when accessing healthcare.

As the current crisis has shown, there is vast potential for a digital transformation to complement and enhance the current role of medical practitioners, ensuring patients receive a more comprehensive and proactive program of care. I think that once the dust has settled, people will find it difficult to go back to the old way of doing things and the use of digital will become the new normal, with healthcare globally becoming digital-first within the next five years.

How easy it is for the data inputted by a patient into Doctorlink to be shared with a GP or clinician?

The Doctorlink platform is an online digital health solution that allows patients to check their symptoms 24/7 via the online triage tool and guide them to the most suitable healthcare pathway based on the symptom assessment results.

Patients are asked a series of questions based on how they are feeling and the symptoms they are experiencing to give recommendations on where they need to go, who to see and in what time frame. Many of the questions are multiple choice, keeping patients on a clear and structured pathway.

Once a course of action has been suggested, the patient’s clinician gets an onscreen report that details the outcome, possible diagnosis and all the answers they provided. This symptom assessment summary is then attached to the patient record so that it is readily available ahead of an in person or video consultation, helping to improve clarity between the patient and clinician.

The platform works in line with existing GP practice protocols and any information provided is only made available to the patient and their clinician.

Doctorlink also offers other health technology solutions including a health risk assessment tool and video consultations. Again, the data collected via both these tools can be easily shared with the patients GP or the medical teams within the insurance companies that use the Doctorlink platform.