Evidence
We have created products—in three distinct specialisms —that are measurably improving outcomes and quality of life for patients, assisting clinicians with treatment, and increasing efficiency/reducing costs for healthcare providers.
Pelvic Health
%
of users had increased their exercise adherence
%
do pelvic floor muscle exercises when prompted by the app
%
of users have experienced some improvement in their condition since using the app
%
of users have been using for over 3 months
Results from our 2015 + 2017 user survey
With the knowledge acquired through Living With Pelvic Health, clinicians are able to focus on the patients with the greatest needs, postpone non-compliant patients and deliver improved patient outcomes.
Detailed data from several hundred patients at three NHS Trusts—Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh, Barts, Aneurin Bevan—provides clear evidence of the substantial quality and cost benefits that Living With Pelvic Health provides.
Three further detailed service evaluations will be completed before 2020.
Benefits to patients
Increased exercise programme adherence
50% improvement
against Treatment As Usual (TAU)—from a TAU of under 25% to over 75% (2 Trusts)
90% overall
average adherence level (1 Trust)
Over-65s too
Positive results irrespective of age. 14% of patients over 65 yrs.
Oldest at 76yrs was 76%!
Improve outcomes
25% better
outcomes on average compared to TAU (1 Trust)
From 7 to 5
– average ICIQ-UI(SF) score at discharge fell 2 points (1 Trust)
From 9.8 to 5.9
– average ICIQ score fell nearly 4 points across consecutive 12-month periods (1 Trust)
Better experience
More motivated
– based on feedback as well as improved adherence
Positive view
– survey showed improved attitude towards treatment, service and NHS
Positive view
– 23 fewer patients required ops, across 2 trials (2 Trusts)
Benefits to clinicians and clinics
Improved efficiency
Telephone appointments
– 13% of face-to-face replaced by telephone (2 Trusts)
Reduced treatment cycle
by >15% on average, from over 16 weeks to under 14 weeks
Fewer appointments
from referral to discharge, average down by around 1.5 (2 Trusts)
Less time wasted
Reduced DNA/UTA
by 15–20% (2 Trusts)
Reduced non-compliance
– more than 11% fewer appointments lost due to patients not doing exercises / diaries
Faster referral
to first appointment, due to increased throughput (1 Trust)
Lower costs
£39 per converted appointment
to telephone, leading to av. £3900 saved p.a. (2 Trusts)
£60 per rescued appointment
from DNA/non-compliance, leading to av. £12000 saved p.a. (2 Trusts)
£3000 per operation
saved through reduction in surgery, leading to £20–60k saving p.a. (2 Trusts)
Benefits to NHS
Cost savings
£50-60k p.a.
per trust
£11-16M p.a.
for UK—potentially, if scaled up nationwide
Will yours be next?
Sources:
(1) Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Trust
(2) Aneurin Bevan Health Board
(3) Barts Health NHS Trust
“Living With Pelvic Health has made it much easier to follow up patient’s progress using the clinician interface. The summary adherence view is very useful. It has made my job easier in managing patients.”
Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Trust
Patient from Northern HSC Trust, Belfast
“Yes I was definitively more motivated to do my exercises with the app, especially knowing [my clinician] could monitor my activity. This encouraged me to keep at it consistently.”
“[Living With Pelvic Health is] easy to access, send invites and view the results. Very important when you’re busy.”
Mobi-Physio Zurich
“Initial signs are that patients feel connected with the service in a way that they never have before. They feel we are watching what they do and are interested in their progress. A few patients have said that this makes them want to do their exercises.”
Barts Health NHS Foundation Trust
“Wonderful app. I can’t believe this isn’t offered everywhere by the NHS. They need to move with the time.”
Patient from Aneurin Bevan University Health Board
Mobi-Physio Zurich
“…[Patients] see me as different to other physios because I give them an app that links them with me and in turn they feel cared for! I’m also creating a relationship with patients who would prefer coming back to me, or will recommend my services to others.”
“Increased my satisfaction that patients are getting better faster.”
Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Trust
“Initial indications are that patients are certainly being more adherent than they were previously. We are seeing more exercises being done than we would normally expect patients to do, so [Living With Pelvic Health and SqueezyCX] is certainly the reason for this.”
Barts Health NHS Foundation Trust
“Love the fact that my physio can see how well I am doing my exercises.”
Patient from Aneurin Bevan University Health Board
Aneurin Bevan University Health Board
“It has reduced DNAs as patients are more engaged with their treatment.”
Rheumatology
How Living With Rheumatoid Arthritis has helped clinics
Living With Rheumatoid Arthritis is helping clinicians to manage patients with high and unpredictable disease activity.
Patients are tracking flares more regularly and accurately than previously, and this is helpful in treatment decisions.
Feedback from a clinician
“I have found that the patients who use the app find it helpful to record their symptoms over time, and it speeds up history taking within clinic, allowing more time to focus on important management decisions.
Furthermore, using the app increases clinical information when providing telephone advice—to both patients and clinicians—and can help patients recall how things are going between disparately timed appointments.
The additional information gained about how a patient’s condition has been over time means we can tailor our treatments more accurately to the patient and their needs, within the same clinical timeframe, and allows the focus of the clinical consultation to be on management strategies and plans rather than on detailed history taking, which can be subject to recall bias itself.
The Living With Rheumatoid Arthritis clinical interface is easy and intuitive to use, and shows clearly the patient experience of living with their inflammatory arthritis.
Inviting patients to use the platform is straightforward and requires minimal input of information; it is quick and can be undertaken easily within the clinic.
The internet portal interface means there is no requirement for lengthy or complex installation processes within NHS computer services, and facilitates remote secure access for working from multiple locations.”
Dr. Phil Hamann
Rheumatologist at Southmead Hospital, NIHR Clinical Lecturer in Rheumatology at the University of Bristol, and Alan Turing Institute Fellow
Oncology
How Living With Oesophageal Cancer has helped clinics
- Improved information for patients
- Saving time of Cancer Clinical Nurse Specialists (CNS)
- Easier tracking of Holistic Needs Assessments (HNA) for clinic
- More effective appointments, through prompts and preparation
“I think it’s been well-received by the patients. I think it’s been extremely helpful for them. And, having looked at the app myself, I think it’s very accessible. I find it helpful.”
Cancer Nurse Specialists, Barnet Hospital
Cancer Nurse Specialists, Barnet Hospital
“There are two aspects to this. I think it will save time, if we’re putting articles and appointments on, and I think you can say safely 15 minutes. Because you don’t have to make a telephone call, you don’t then have to put things in the post to them. So, you’re saving money, as well.”
“The patients have received it really well, they really, really like it.”
Cancer Nurse Specialists, Barnet Hospital
“I think it encourages us, actually, to give more information. A lot of [patients] have read articles that we wouldn’t necessarily have given them, and they’ve found that useful.”
Cancer Nurse Specialists, Barnet Hospital
“They like the fact that we can push all the appointments through on there, and they’ve got it on their phone and they can scroll through. Rather than having lots of pieces of paper around, or searching through their emails, they can bring up the app and it’s there.”
Cancer Nurse Specialists, Barnet Hospital
Cancer Nurse Specialists, Barnet Hospital
“The fact that we do message them through it, they get quite excited about.”
” I have everyone telling me, ‘You know what’s going to happen,’ and I’ve said, ‘Look, I don’t want to be a know-all, but I know.’ Everyone should have one. I mean really. It doesn’t stop your inner feelings and thoughts, but it’s reassuring.”
Oesophageal cancer patient