Report outlines how apps can help tackle NHS cancer backlog

A report from ORCHA (The Organisation for the Review of Care and Health Apps), an NHS partner and a leading authority on health app trends and usage, says that digital tools can be part of the solution to the backlog in cancer services.

Around 40,000 fewer people started cancer treatment in 2020 due to COVID-19, putting potential pressure on services for years to come.

The report adds that patients must be supported by healthcare staff in their choice of apps and be extremely wary of poor-quality tools which could damage their health.

Former NHS clinician and founding CEO of ORCHA, Liz Ashall-Payne, said: “There are excellent apps supporting cancer patients. These have been developed with clinicians, rigorously reviewed and frequently updated. Apps such as these can be embedded into cancer services to provide tremendous support to patients and ease the healthcare system at a time of tremendous backlog. 

“For example, BELONG, Beating Cancer Together gives users access to oncologists, radiologists and doctors to answer questions and notifies users of available clinical trials around the world. Vinehealth Cancer Companion helps patients monitor their symptoms and track their medication.

“We believe there is massive potential for intelligent apps such as these both to help patients and provide excellent returns on investment to the NHS.”

Evidence from Vinehealth has shown that when patients simply track their symptoms and medications effectively, survival can increase by up to 20%. Another report found that weekly self-reporting of symptoms by patients led to a seven-month increase in survival.

Ashall-Payne added: “However, there’s a real problem with patients randomly selecting low quality apps from publicly accessible app stores such as Apple and Google Play.”

According to ORCHA research, today, 3,603 apps to support cancer can be found in app stores. Worryingly, 74% of these have not been updated in the last 18 months. This means the vast majority have not kept pace with medical, data or usability guidelines.

Amongst the apps updated within 18 months, ORCHA reviewed 190 of the most downloaded, testing them against more than 350 health standards and measures including elements of the NICE framework. This diligence revealed that only 24.7% of the apps reviewed meet minimum quality thresholds.

Liz Ashall-Payne, said: “These statistics are deeply concerning, given how easy it is for vulnerable patients and carers to search app stores and stumble across apps which may give poor or out-dated advice or blatantly misuse their private data.”

The full report, Digital Health For Cancer Services, is available here.