As the Digital Revolution gave rise to the beginning of the Information Age, the control of data became the defining characteristic in human civilization. Data is everywhere, and informs most of the decisions we make on a daily basis.
This advancement has been progressing at a rapid pace in every aspect of modern day life, except perhaps within the health sector. The need for evidence based technology is so ingrained in NHS culture, that anything new is often viewed with suspicion and cynicism. This leads to a scenario where tradition reigns and innovation effectively plateaus.
Within this sector, medical professionals use data collected from groups of patients to identify issues associated with certain conditions, which is then used to develop more effective treatments and management techniques. Having the right data at the right time (and knowing how to use it), not only improves quality of life, but can save it. It is logical then that barriers are broken down to make way for greater use of data in the health sector.
A step in the right direction is the newly formed ‘HealthTech Advisory Board’. This board is made up of IT experts, clinicians and academics. They will report directly to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and its roles will include:
Assisting in policy creation.
Challenging decision making.
Acting as a sounding board for new ideas.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: “I want the UK to have the most advanced HealthTech ecosystem in the world. That starts with improving the technology and IT systems in the NHS and creating a culture of innovation so patients can benefit from cutting-edge treatments while reducing the workload of staff… The new future-focused HealthTech Advisory Board will bring together tech experts, clinicians and academics to identify where change needs to happen and be an ideas hub for how we can improve patient outcomes and to make the lives of NHS staff easier.”
Chair of the board Ben Goldacre said: “I am delighted that Matt Hancock has created this board to inject challenge and diverse expertise around better use of data, evidence and technology in healthcare… I hope we can bring positive change for staff and patients, and realise the Tech Vision with a cutting-edge 21st century NHS. Medicine is driven by information: better use of data can revolutionise health care.”
We are unlikely to see an instance of metamorphosis with the NHS becoming a paragon of health and social care given its capacity for change. But we are now in a position to ask the right questions, to evaluate the status quo, and start to break down some of those systematic barriers.
Many will be familiar with the impromptu visit to the local hospital. That anxious rush to arrive at the reception desk to register your arrival with the admin staff on hand, to then need to sit and wait with the other attendees until you are eventually called in for assessment, then after no short while finally on for treatment, transfer or discharge. Or perhaps you have entered the system more subtly, via a referral from your GP to an outpatient appointment.
Either way, this is the most many of us will ever experience of this healthcare juggernaut. To filter through the various departments when the need arises. You will have noticed however the timescales involved between appointments, that oftentimes they seem to take longer than we’d like. This is something we might not appreciate.
A fitting analogy to help us see the overall picture is traffic flow. Each leg of a route can be thought of as an individual ‘process’ in the overall journey. As variations in speed at different legs of a journey can equate to delays, each ‘process’ affects the efficiency of the entire journey as a whole.
Just as the flow of traffic is improved by controlling the variation in the speed of cars and the havoc stop-starting causes in the endless lines of caterpillar-esque traffic, the flow of patients can also be improved by understanding the causes of variations of processes within the healthcare system.
Whole healthcare systems have been analysed: from GP practices, to ambulance services, secondary care, tertiary care, and including social services. This work has shown that improving patient flow across health and social care systems is beneficial to patients and staff alike in many ways, such as: • improving the clinical outcome and experience of patient’s journey. • eliminating waits and delays. • saving time and effort by avoiding duplication of work. • saving money from the cost of overtime, waiting list initiatives, locum and agency fees. • improving the trust of the healthcare organisation.
The need to apply Quality Improvement shouldn’t be viewed as a box ticking exercise either, but rather, as healthcare organisations dedicated to the welfare of the general population and the NHS, they have a responsibility to identify and review these processes with statistical accuracy so improvements can be implemented and audited. That should mean taking into account all the costs related to any process, including the loss of income to a patient attending an appointment and the impact of transport on public health. The inefficiencies of our health system impact on the general health of our society as a whole.
In order to deliver high-quality healthcare, establishments must start to think in terms of value and sustainability; this means the need to identify a balance between cost and outcomes (value) and long-term impacts (sustainability). There is no ‘one-size fits all’ solution to the inefficiencies we encounter in the current healthcare system, but there are innovative solutions to address many of these sticking points; healthcare organisations need to acknowledge these deficiencies honestly and utilise new technologies to advance care for all.
A case in point is whether there is a legitimate need to physically attend a consultation. If there is not, are we not then forcing a one-size fits all solution to a legacy issue without taking advantage of the modern day tools at our disposal?- As Apple’s trademarked slogan goes, “there’s an app for that”.
Outpatient appointments and the sheer number of users flowing through a system may be the bread and butter of many establishments, but the reality is that cost is borne out in more than how taxpayer contributions are expended.
Many will be familiar with the impromptu visit to the local hospital. That anxious rush to arrive at the reception desk to register your arrival with the admin staff on hand, to then need to sit and wait with the other attendees until you are eventually called in for assessment, then after no short while finally on for treatment, transfer or discharge. Or perhaps you have entered the system more subtly, via a referral from your GP to an outpatient appointment.
Either way, this is the most many of us will ever experience of this healthcare juggernaut. To filter through the various departments when the need arises. You will have noticed however the timescales involved between appointments, that oftentimes they seem to take longer than we’d like. This is something we might not appreciate.
A fitting analogy to help us see the overall picture is traffic flow. Each leg of a route can be thought of as an individual ‘process’ in the overall journey. As variations in speed at different legs of a journey can equate to delays, each ‘process’ affects the efficiency of the entire journey as a whole.
Just as the flow of traffic is improved by controlling the variation in the speed of cars and the havoc stop-starting causes in the endless lines of caterpillar-esque traffic, the flow of patients can also be improved by understanding the causes of variations of processes within the healthcare system.
Whole healthcare systems have been analysed: from GP practices, to ambulance services, secondary care, tertiary care, and including social services. This work has shown that improving patient flow across health and social care systems is beneficial to patients and staff alike in many ways, such as: • improving the clinical outcome and experience of patient’s journey. • eliminating waits and delays. • saving time and effort by avoiding duplication of work. • saving money from the cost of overtime, waiting list initiatives, locum and agency fees. • improving the trust of the healthcare organisation.
The need to apply Quality Improvement shouldn’t be viewed as a box ticking exercise either, but rather, as healthcare organisations dedicated to the welfare of the general population and the NHS, they have a responsibility to identify and review these processes with statistical accuracy so improvements can be implemented and audited. That should mean taking into account all the costs related to any process, including the loss of income to a patient attending an appointment and the impact of transport on public health. The inefficiencies of our health system impact on the general health of our society as a whole.
In order to deliver high-quality healthcare, establishments must start to think in terms of value and sustainability; this means the need to identify a balance between cost and outcomes (value) and long-term impacts (sustainability). There is no ‘one-size fits all’ solution to the inefficiencies we encounter in the current healthcare system, but there are innovative solutions to address many of these sticking points; healthcare organisations need to acknowledge these deficiencies honestly and utilise new technologies to advance care for all.
A case in point is whether there is a legitimate need to physically attend a consultation. If there is not, are we not then forcing a one-size fits all solution to a legacy issue without taking advantage of the modern day tools at our disposal?- As Apple’s trademarked slogan goes, “there’s an app for that”.
Outpatient appointments and the sheer number of users flowing through a system may be the bread and butter of many establishments, but the reality is that cost is borne out in more than how taxpayer contributions are expended.
With the concept and proposed benefits of a paperless society first being introduced back in 1978, it seems absurd that we continue to rely on physical means of written communication when it comes to issues as serious as appointments and updates on critical screening services.
This is even more serious when it becomes evident that letters containing invitations to cervical cancer tests that should have gone to 40,000 women in England between January and June, had not even been sent. Yet this is just months after it emerged that 174,000 women had not been invited for breast cancer screening.
The contractor responsible for these errors, Capita, has previously been under the radar for failing to meet standards in managing the movements of patient records. The British Medical Association stated that problems included delays in records being transferred, even when urgently needed for patient care.
Dr Chaand Nagpaul, BMA GP committee chair, said: “Local GPs are reporting to the BMA that they are facing unacceptable delays in patient record transfers and mistakes in maintaining supplies of crucial medical equipment, like syringes and even prescription paper… These mistakes are directly impacting on the ability of many GPs to provide safe, effective care to their patients… They are in some cases being left without the essential information they need to know about a new patient and the tools to treat them.”
There has been some movement in the right direction by the NHS, in establishing the Global Digital Exemplar (GDE) programme. This is a knowledge sharing platform developed by NHS England. The programme is set up so that “digitally advanced” NHS trusts share their knowledge and experience with other NHS trusts. Specifically, the knowledge gained whilst implementing their IT systems, and especially their experience from introducing electronic health record (EHR) systems.
Therein lies the solution, patients need to be empowered to take charge of their own health and wellbeing, through applications like MyClinic.com which give them up-to-date 24-7 access to their health records, they can receive updates for appointments and screening reminders. Adopting this technology more widely would remove huge administrative costs from the NHS, and avoid the frequent problem of paper-based reminders and records getting lost or never being sent.
With the concept and proposed benefits of a paperless society first being introduced back in 1978, it seems absurd that we continue to rely on physical means of written communication when it comes to issues as serious as appointments and updates on critical screening services.
This is even more serious when it becomes evident that letters containing invitations to cervical cancer tests that should have gone to 40,000 women in England between January and June, had not even been sent. Yet this is just months after it emerged that 174,000 women had not been invited for breast cancer screening.
The contractor responsible for these errors, Capita, has previously been under the radar for failing to meet standards in managing the movements of patient records. The British Medical Association stated that problems included delays in records being transferred, even when urgently needed for patient care.
Dr Chaand Nagpaul, BMA GP committee chair, said: “Local GPs are reporting to the BMA that they are facing unacceptable delays in patient record transfers and mistakes in maintaining supplies of crucial medical equipment, like syringes and even prescription paper… These mistakes are directly impacting on the ability of many GPs to provide safe, effective care to their patients… They are in some cases being left without the essential information they need to know about a new patient and the tools to treat them.”
There has been some movement in the right direction by the NHS, in establishing the Global Digital Exemplar (GDE) programme. This is a knowledge sharing platform developed by NHS England. The programme is set up so that “digitally advanced” NHS trusts share their knowledge and experience with other NHS trusts. Specifically, the knowledge gained whilst implementing their IT systems, and especially their experience from introducing electronic health record (EHR) systems.
Therein lies the solution, patients need to be empowered to take charge of their own health and wellbeing, through applications like MyClinic.com which give them up-to-date 24-7 access to their health records, they can receive updates for appointments and screening reminders. Adopting this technology more widely would remove huge administrative costs from the NHS, and avoid the frequent problem of paper-based reminders and records getting lost or never being sent.
Medicalchain is proud to support Self Care Week 2018, which runs this year from the 12th to the 18th of November. Self Care Week is an initiative which aims to engage and empower people to better look after their own health. Last year it reached ~20,000,000 people with its message, mirroring Medicalchain’s ethos, “own your health”.
With a focus on health innovation to help patients help themselves Dr Knut Schroeder, a GP, Self Care Forum Board member and founder of free self care app resource producer Expert Self Care, said: “Health apps are easily accessible for anyone with a smartphone. Containing information, advice and tips on topics ranging from first aid and healthy living to pregnancy and mental health; health apps can be great for learning more about health issues and enabling people to self care.”
Dr Abdullah Albeyatti, Co-Founder and CEO of Medicalchain said: “Medicalchain is focused on addressing the issue of a fragmented healthcare system by empowering patients to be at the centre of their care. Through innovative use of the latest advancements in technology, we are able to resolve much of the issues we see in the health system today and we can provide all this through an app on a smartphone, making access and usability of a patient’s personal Health Record easier than ever”.
MyClinic.com is a tool anyone with Web access can use, either through their personal computer, laptop, or smartphone. MyClinic.com empowers patients by giving them choice and understanding of complex health issues and the treatment options available. It allows families to be more involved in their loved ones care and therefore support better self care, regardless of the distance between them. Secure and safe access to health records also promotes better communications with multiple doctors at the same time to always strive for the best advice possible for each individual patient. This is in perfect harmony with the theme of Self Care Week 2018, being “choose self care for life”.
Medicalchain is proud to support Self Care Week 2018, which runs this year from the 12th to the 18th of November. Self Care Week is an initiative which aims to engage and empower people to better look after their own health. Last year it reached ~20,000,000 people with its message, mirroring Medicalchain’s ethos, “own your health”.
With a focus on health innovation to help patients help themselves Dr Knut Schroeder, a GP, Self Care Forum Board member and founder of free self care app resource producer Expert Self Care, said: “Health apps are easily accessible for anyone with a smartphone. Containing information, advice and tips on topics ranging from first aid and healthy living to pregnancy and mental health; health apps can be great for learning more about health issues and enabling people to self care.”
Dr Abdullah Albeyatti, Co-Founder and CEO of Medicalchain said: “Medicalchain is focused on addressing the issue of a fragmented healthcare system by empowering patients to be at the centre of their care. Through innovative use of the latest advancements in technology, we are able to resolve much of the issues we see in the health system today and we can provide all this through an app on a smartphone, making access and usability of a patient’s personal Health Record easier than ever”.
MyClinic.com is a tool anyone with Web access can use, either through their personal computer, laptop, or smartphone. MyClinic.com empowers patients by giving them choice and understanding of complex health issues and the treatment options available. It allows families to be more involved in their loved ones care and therefore support better self care, regardless of the distance between them. Secure and safe access to health records also promotes better communications with multiple doctors at the same time to always strive for the best advice possible for each individual patient. This is in perfect harmony with the theme of Self Care Week 2018, being “choose self care for life”.
Welcome to the sixth issue of Inside Medicalchain, a monthly newsletter written to update our community on the progress of our project.
If you missed the fifth issue you can catch up by clicking here.
Announcement
Team Update:
We are happy to welcome six new developers to our growing team:
Olivier Conan, is doing a fantastic job in leading up our iOS development for the Apple application.
Olivier Conan
“Although I am an experienced developer, working for a health company has presented itself with its own challenges. Knowing that we aim to make a big difference to people’s health worldwide has been a great driving force behind this.”
Maxime Fischer, is focussing on backend development.
Ahmed Hassanein, our new junior full-stack developer.
Max Port, also joining us as a junior developer supporting the lead developers.
Simone Cascino, is our new senior Android Developer
Luca Costa, is a junior Android and full-stack developer.
Product Development
MyClinic.com:
We are pleased to announce that our first product, the MyClinic.com application is now live, you can download the application through the Apple App store if you are residing within the UK, download here.
MyClinic.com is a subsidiary of Medicalchain that provides telemedicine services to patients who are in need of an online consultation, with more functionalities to come. MyClinic.com is the first application in the world to support cryptocurrency as a form of payment for online medical treatment.
Maria Rodriguez, the first patient to use cryptocurrency to access an appointment with her GP, said: “It’s super cool to finally use cryptocurrency to purchase services. MyClinic.com is easy to use and I love the fact that I can talk to a doctor I know well and trust. I found the report that was sent by the doctor within a few minutes really helpful and reassuring. I’m definitely going to use MyClinic.com again and I’ve already started telling my friends and family about it.”
We are progressing now with our development with a focus on v1.5 of the MyClinic.com application, we are also working on the development of the Health Platform which we aim to incorporate into the MyClinic.com application by Q3 2019.
The Health Platform will act as the foundation of all of the Medicalchain products and will be different from the Health Passport which will be its own application outright.
Media
Why granting NHS patients access to their medical records is a legal right
The Times featured Medicalchain as one of the few companies offering people smartphone access to their health data… Read more — here.
Forbes writes about Medicalchain’s mission to solve the patient data problem, “Patients now have a right to read their own records. We are setting up the functionality that is allowing them to do that” — Dr. Abdullah Albeyatti, CEO Medicalchain — Read here
Latest Medicalchain AMA
Humbled by the support from the Japanese community, Dr Abdullah Albeyatti (CEO) and Mo Tayeb (COO) discuss the latest ongoings in Medicalchain’s AMA series along with a live Japanese translation! — Watch here:
MyClinic.com app in action
MTN Utility expansion
And more!
Events
On September 27th Medicalchain’s CEO, Dr Abdullah Albeyatti recently spoke at the Humanism, Technology and the Physician of Tomorrow event at the American University of Beirut Medical Center:
On October 1st Medicalchain’s head of health informatics, Dave Ebbitt presented at the 2nd BLOCKCHAINTECH CONGRESS in Warsaw, Poland:
On October 10–12 (Seoul, South Korea) Medicalchain’s CEO, Dr Abdullah Albeyatti presented at the 19th World Knowledge Forum alongside speakers such as the 8th Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon.
Oct 17 (USA): Medicalchain’s CEO, Dr Abdullah Albeyatti presented at the FT Digital Health Summit USA — Read about it here.
Medicalchain’s CEO, Dr Abdullah Albeyatti also spoke in Helsinki at Digisote 2018, one of Finland’s prominent health tech conferences about Medicalchain’s progress
Upcoming Events
If anyone is available and able, we would love for you to come along and meet us at one of our upcoming events:
Nov 15 — Nov 16 all-day (Milan, Italy).
Medicalchain’s COO, Mo Tayeb, will be speaking at the Futureland event at Talent Garden Calabiana- Milan, Italy:
Per our roadmap, Medicalchain will initially focus on rolling out our pilot within the UK.
Our objective is to ensure that our strategy and product is aligned with the unique market requirements of each country prior to tackling the global market.
Social Media
Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to ask us questions and engage with our community management team. If you have not had the chance to say hello yet, please click on one of the groups to join the discussion!
The Medicalchain team remain hard at work, developing the MyClinic.com application and the Medicalchain Health Passport.
Our hard work has not gone unnoticed. We recently completed an interview with Trevor Clawson, Forbes contributor. We hope you enjoy reading the published article.
Originally published and sourced from Forbes, written by Trevor Clawson.
“Medicalchain is seeking to address a big problem — namely the fragmented nature of health records here in the UK and elsewhere around the globe. In an ideal world, when a patient sees a doctor, the practitioner in question would have access to a complete medical history before deciding on a treatment. In practice, it’s not so simple. A patient might turn up at an accident and emergency department, visit an unfamiliar General Practitioner when away from home, seek private treatment, or see a doctor when travelling abroad. In all of these scenarios, comprehensive records might not be available, simply because the data is stored in local silos.”
Welcome to the fifth issue of Inside Medicalchain, a monthly newsletter written to update our community on the progress of our project.
If you missed the fourth issue you can catch up by clicking here.
Announcement
Medicalchain Becomes First Healthcare Pioneer Member of the Renowned Blockchain Research Institute:
Medicalchain has joined the Blockchain Research Institute (BRI), the foremost independent think-tank leading research into the impact of blockchain on business, government and society. Medicalchain joins industry giants Accenture, IBM, Microsoft and SAP, as well as blockchain startup pioneers CarbonX, Digital Asset Holdings, and Polymath, as the institute’s first blockchain for healthcare pioneer.
Read views from the famous Don Tapscott, on Medicalchain here.
Evaluating MTN Token
Mo Tayeb, Medicalchain’s COO, announces the exploration of expanding MTN’s token utility to allow the purchasing of MyClinic.com shares as an exchangeable security option, with a minimum purchase value of MTN set at ICO price or higher. In addition, any tokens used to purchase these shares will be burned.
Please note: The new concept is still at evaluation stage and is subject to gaining approval from all the relevant stakeholders including lawyers, regulators, and exchanges.
Learn about the prospective remodel in our latest AMA.
Product Development
At the end of the last month, June 23rd — Medicalchain & The Groves Medical Group had a launch event to mark the beginning of the pilot for MyClinic.com.
The app will go live in the coming weeks, and you will be able to download it from Apple iOS App Store and use the service if you live in the UK.
MyClinic.com is a brand of Medicalchain that provides telemedicine services to patients who are in need of a medical consultation, with more services to be made available in the near future. MyClinic.com will be the first application in the world to support cryptocurrency as a form of payment for an online medical consultation. Updates on our pilot with The Groves Medical Group will be shared in the next issue!
Media
Techworld lists Medicalchain as one of the top blockchain startups to watch — Read here
ICO Crowd, a Japanese media publication writes about Medicalchain’s mission and agenda to reshape the medical industry!
Latest Medicalchain AMA
Humbled by the support from the Japanese community, Mo Tayeb discusses the latest ongoings in Medicalchain’s AMA series along with live Japanese translation!-Watch here
MyClinic.com app in action
MTN Utility expansion
And more!
Upcoming Events
Blockchain Live
London| 26th Septemeber 2018
Medicalchain will be exhibiting at the renowned Blockchain Live at the Olympia, London — Join us!
Blockchain Tech
Poland | 1-2 October 2018
Dave Ebbitt, Medicalchain’s Health Informatics Manager, will be speaking at Blockchain Tech Conference –Join us!
Hyperledger Member Summit
Montreal| 1–2 October 2018
Medicalchain’s Head of Infrastructure and Security, Bara Mustafa, will be presenting at the Hyperledger Member Summit –Join us!
Unlocking the Value of Disruption — FT Digital Health Summit USA
New York | 17 October 2018
Medicalchain’s CEO, Dr Abdullah Albeyatti, will be presenting for the second year running at the FT Digital Health Summit –Join us!
Social Media
Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to ask us questions and engage with our community management team. If you have not had the chance to say hello yet, please click on one of the groups to join the discussion!
