Virtual clinic tool aims to provide end-to-end NHS solution

Definition Health has unveiled a digital tool aimed to reduce patient risk and improve time and cost efficiencies across the NHS and private health sector.

Called Secure Virtual Clinic (SVC), the software provides patient-practitioner consultation via video or audio call, whilst allowing secure two-way file uploading, information sharing and complete follow-up to ensure medical continuity.

The combination of SVC with the company’s LifeBox pre-operative health assessment (ePOA) app, launched in 2018, provides the UK’s first end-to-end digital surgical journey.

Definition Health co-founder, Dr Rosie Scott, said: “Secure Virtual Clinic is more than just video consultation as it replicates a face-to-face consultation.

“Medical files, scans, patient photos, and videos can be uploaded and exchanged between patient and hospital staff, for consultations and the entire pre- and post-op care. It allows for a pluralistic approach to enable individualised patient care – and it is completely secure.”

Meanwhile, LifeBox ePOA has witnessed rapid adoption among private and NHS hospitals during the COVID crisis as medical teams embrace digital health technology in a bid to keep patients safe. As elective surgery was put on hold at the beginning of lockdown, LifeBox ePOA was used to assess the requirement for a hospital visit prior to urgent surgery.  

For example, The Montefiore Hospital in Hove, West Sussex had a high number of cancer patients needing elective surgery and/or treatment. It had already digitised its entire patient pre-operative assessment service through LifeBox so used the app to assess the requirement for these cancer patients to come into hospital alleviating the need for 70% of visits during the early stages of lockdown.

Mary Richardson, managing director of the South West London Elective Orthopaedic Centre (SWLEOC), says the level of transformation brought about using LifeBox ePOA among its medical teams has ensured the Centre has been able to recover much more quickly from the COVID crisis, because patients continued to be pre-assessed via LifeBox during the lockdown phase.  When surgery recommenced, SWLEOC had many patients all ready for theatre.

SWLEOC, recognised as one of the largest joint replacement centres in Europe, started using LifeBox last summer and is now gradually rolling out this product to all four Trusts within its partnership.

Richardson said: “All pre-assessments are now completed virtually.  In the past, patients had to come back into hospital to fill in their pre-operative assessment.

“This comprehensive pre-assessment tool enables us to see all patient details including their MRSA, blood and COVID test results and it also flags up if there is a need for an anaesthetic review.”

Six months into the COVID crisis, and the LifeBox ePOA app is now supporting hospitals as they return to elective surgery. By triaging thousands of patients using the software, waiting lists are being tackled remotely, ensuring patients are `surgery-ready’ for when the hospitals are.

Dr Scott added: “LifeBox ePOA and SVC have both been designed by clinicians with the main aim of keeping patients safe and reducing risk. With the Coronavirus, we have witnessed the adoption of our preassessment app move forward by two years within a matter of weeks and now hospital teams understand we cannot simply go back to the business as usual of lengthy face-to-face appointments and bringing patients into hospital to fill in forms.”