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Accelerator bringing digital revolution to NHS announces first cohort

The first-ever DigitalHealth.London Accelerator has today (Monday) announced its inagural cohort of digital healthcare businesses whose innovations could soon be improving NHS services across the capital.

Announced at a launch event at Euston Road’s Digital Catapult, the 32 chosen tech businesses have been selected based on their business credibility and the benefit their innovations could provide to London’s health services.

The year-long programme, which is the first of its kind in the capital, will see each business benefit from insight and support from a team of Digital Health (NHS) Navigators and engage with healthcare experts to hone their ideas for the market and gain advice on the product development process.

The DigitalHealth.London programme has been set up in response to recommendations by the London Health Commission, which outlined its vision for a central digital marketplace where SMEs and tech businesses can sell innovative solutions to help improve NHS services.

Jenny Thomas, Programme Director of the Accelerator, said that the central motivation behind the programme is to speed up the ‘adoption of innovations at scale’ which can help relieve some of the pressure health and care services are currently facing.

She commented: “We’re delighted to welcome our very first Accelerator cohort and look forward to working with them closely over the next year.

“This is a completely new and innovative programme – the first of its kind in London – that works by engaging with businesses, the NHS and wider healthcare sector, to close the gap between product development and the uptake of new solutions within hospitals and other healthcare settings.

“We believe that our unique approach has the ability to help businesses engage with the NHS in the most efficient way.”

Participating businesses include the UK arm of San Francisco-headquartered Sense.ly, which has developed a virtual nurse app which utilises artificial intelligence (AI) to guide patients through a series questions before directing them to relevant services.

Another is Reading’s Mumoactive, a diabetes tracking tool which helps individuals suffering from type 1 or 2 diabetes track their sugars, medicines, insulin and carb intake, while London-based startup DrDoctor, another business taking part in the accelerator, has developed an advanced text messaging service that allows patients to manage their appointments.

Professor Keith McNeil, Chief Clinical Information Officer at NHS England, believes that the acceleraot, and digital innovation in general, has the power to revolutionise NHS services and solve some of the critical sustainability issues that the health service is currently facing.

He added: “Digital innovation has the power to directly enhance patient care, improve the sustainability of our systems and transform the way people access NHS services and manage their own health.

“We are already seeing the benefits to patients and NHS staff as we harness the potential of smart technology and we are investing hundreds of millions to move faster in realising such benefits across the entire health and social care system.”

The DigitalHealth.London programme, of which the acclereator is a key part, is a collaboration between Imperial College Health Partners, UCLPartners and the Health Innovation Network, with the Mayor of London and Academic Science Centres (AHSCs).

The first cohort in full

Whittled down from a field of 119 applicants, the full list of participating businesses includes:

11 Health & Technologies Ltd, Affigo, Breaking Free Online Limited, Circular Wave Limited, Cinapsis, Club Soda Limited, Cupris Health, DefinitiveDX, DrDoctor, Healthlogistics Limited, Helicon Health Limited, Inhealthcare, iPlato Healthcare Ltd, LiveSmart UK Ltd, Lumeon, MedicaliQ, Medopad, Meedoc, MedShr, Molecular Warehouse, mumoActive, myrecovery, Now Healthcare Group, OurPath, Oviva, Perfect Ward, Physitrack, Propeller (part of Selfless), Revere Care, Sense.ly UK, SIME Diagnostics and Written Medicine.

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