Digital health innovators named in bid to speed up NHS innovation

By Editor
11th September 2019
Type 2 diabetes, Type 2 diabetes remission Type 2 prevention

Diabetes Digital Media has been included in a prestigious programme aimed at accelerating the adoption of digital health innovations into the NHS.

DigitalHealth.London – a collaboration between MedCity and London’s three Academic Health Science Networks – is helping health and care professionals turn the idea of digital innovation into tangible improvements in experience and outcomes.

Charlotte Summers from DDM at the Accelerator launch event

This week, 20 new digital healthcare innovators were announced as being the fourth wave of 2019-20 Accelerator initiative, which supports small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Diabetes Digital Media, which develops evidence-based, personalised apps proven to improve the health of people with type 2 diabetes, is part of this year’s intake.

The programme gives innovators improved access to the wealth of world-class research, medical technology, and resources London has to offer and supports NHS providers and commissioners find, and adopt, the new technologies.

Each of the 20 innovators selected for this year’s programme directly support the ambitions of the NHS Long Term Plan published earlier this year. The programme will support these SMEs to develop and deploy solutions to some of the most pressing challenges facing the NHS.

Sara Nelson, Programme Director, DigitalHealth.London Accelerator, said: “I feel really proud of the Accelerator and its achievements over the last three years. Today is another step forward and represents how both sides – innovators and the NHS – are coming together more and more to solve the very real challenges NHS organisations face every day. Digital technologies are not only creating new opportunities to change things for patients, they are also creating new opportunities to make things better for staff, and the wider system. We all share the ultimate objective of making our NHS sustainable and I am looking forward to helping the next set of digital innovators make this a reality.”

Diabetes Digital Media (DDM) is behind the Low Carb Program, which has disrupted and redefined the landscape of type 2 diabetes management.

Earlier this year, the Low Carb Program was selected by the NHS Innovation Accelerator, to scale type 2 diabetes remission within primary care. The NHS Innovation Accelerator works to scale high impact, evidence-based innovations across the NHS and wider healthcare system to adopt initiatives to support the NHS Long Term Plan.

Peer-reviewed research outcomes published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research in 2018 have proven that the Low Carb Program is effective in improving glycaemic control, weight loss and reducing hypoglycaemic medications in patients with type 2 diabetes.

The paper evaluated the one-year outcomes of 1,000 people in the UK who engaged in the Low Carb Program. At one-year, the average member who completes the program loses 7.4kg and reduces their HbA1c by 1.2%. The study demonstrated 39% of patients lower their HbA1c below the threshold for a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. Additionally, 40% of people eliminate at least one medication from their treatment regime and one in four people place their type 2 diabetes into remission.

The Low Carb Program app is available via the NHS Apps Library and has been approved to meet NHS quality standards for safety, usability and accessibility. It also has QISMET approval for all programme streams meaning it can be prescribed on the NHS.

For information and advice about providing free access to your patients through the NHS, click here.

The DigitalHealth.London Accelerator launch event took place on Monday, September 9, in the IET London. There was a keynote speech from Tara Donnelly, Chief Digital Officer, NHSX.

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