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Are you excited about the new #podcast coming 25th August 2020?

Are you excited about the new #podcast coming 25th August 2020?

Today we’re happy to announce the official launch date. ♦♦♦ GIANT Thinking ♦♦♦ Tuesday, 25th August 2020 Make a note in your calendar and stay tuned for more information.

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Healthtech firm receives Innovate UK backing for diabetes research

Healthtech firm receives Innovate UK backing for diabetes research

ealthtech company Cognitant Group has won a grant from Innovate UK to conduct a diabetes research programme in Colombia, as part of the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF). The aim of this project, in partnership with Oxford Brookes University and the Hospital Universitario San Ignacio in Bogota, Colombia, is to improve the self-management of health among people with diabetes in Colombia by delivering avatar-based educational experiences. This project was developed to address the growing number of adults with diabetes in Colombia, estimated at nearly 3 million in 2017 by the International Diabetes Federation. The health costs of diabetes in Colombia now exceed $2 billion a year. Research indicates that many of the long-term complications associated with diabetes are preventable by optimising glycaemic control. This project will therefore run a feasibility study to evaluate the potential of an avatar-based educational programme to improve patients’ awareness of their health, including understanding of their condition, the effects of treatment, and strategies for effective management. Dr Tim Ringrose, CEO of Cognitant Group, said: “We are thrilled to be working in partnership with Oxford Brookes University and the Hospital Universitario San Ignacio in Bogota, Colombia on such an important project. The growth in prevalence of diabetes with its significant impact on health outcomes and healthcare costs is a huge concern. We are keen to see whether immersive educational experiences can help to tackle this issue in Colombia and to explore how this could be extended to other regions.” It is hoped that, by offering clear and engaging clinical information, the project will see a positive impact on patients’ self-management and, consequently, their health outcomes. Dr Clare Martin, co-investigator from Oxford Brookes University, added: “We are delighted to be working with Cognitant Group on this exciting new project. It is also an excellent opportunity to continue our diabetes technology research collaboration with the Hospital Universitario San Ignacio.”

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A new podcast - GIANT Thinking

A new podcast - GIANT Thinking

GIANT Health is launching a new podcast GIANT Thinking Our vision is to improve the health and well-being of people around the world. By supporting #innovation in #healthcare and promoting #healthtech entrepreneurs. We are a mission driven organisation whose goal…

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Smartphone-based care home training given Innovate UK backing

Smartphone-based care home training given Innovate UK backing

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, care home residents and those receiving community-based care are recognised to be at great risk from the virus. Although highly experienced in general care of frail patients, care home staff are under tremendous pressure to keep up-to-date with new medical and government guidelines as they learn to safely manage patients. Technology and business innovation has a key role to play in supporting care staff in managing these difficult circumstances. Cognitant will be developing and delivering training for all care staff to access via smartphones. The programme will be shared amongst care staff by care organisations and by staff themselves using peer-to-peer networks and social media. It also includes a self-assessment component and a certificate of completion to ensure quality training. This new innovative approach will support and train care workers with minimal disruption to their time and work duties. The smartphone-based approach makes the content accessible and creates a mechanism to provide updates to care staff as policy and procedures adjust over time. As part of the development of the training programme, Cognitant is conducting a survey of care workers to ensure that the training addresses the areas of greatest need. Cognitant will also be delivering the support and training for care workers to assist them in acquiring essential new skills. This includes: Support care home staff as they care for patients affected by COVID-19 in care homes and in the community. Up-skill care home staff to be able to carry out clinical observations for the monitoring of patients (inc. blood pressure, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation, as recommended by the British Geriatric Society). Ensure that care staff are equipped to be able to liaise effectively with remote clinical teams (GPs and 111) Improve the confidence of care staff in managing patients Reduce anxiety of patients, their relatives and staff Cognitant’s chief executive Dr Tim Ringrose said: “The pandemic has put enormous strain on care home staff, who are caring for the most vulnerable members of our society. This programme aims to ensure that each member of staff has easy access to trustworthy information and training. We will be working closely with the network of care homes to support care home staff in their vital role looking after our loved ones”.

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Have you downloaded Vinehealth app?

Have you downloaded Vinehealth app?

  Have you downloaded Vinehealth app? It's free to use. If you haven't yet you can download it here.  

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GIANT Thinking

GIANT Thinking

Something new is coming from GIANT.. We’re excited to announce the official launch of GIANT Thinking, a new podcast that tells the stories about world-class experts from #healthcare, #Industry and #technology. Stay tuned on our social media channels in the…

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Healthtech Acquisition Worth $16 Million Signals Shift In Clinician-Patient Communication

Healthtech Acquisition Worth $16 Million Signals Shift In Clinician-Patient Communication

In June 2020, Induction Healthcare, the group behind the Induction and MicroGuide apps acquired fellow healthtech company Zesty, which enables integration between a hospital’s electronic patient record (EPR) and patient administration system (PAS) in a deal worth £12.7 million ($16M). Induction, used by over 119,000 clinicians in the U.K., boosts clinicians' productivity, enhances communication and has seen an almost 500% increase in usage during the Covid-19 crisis. On the other side, Zesty empowers patients to manage their hospital outpatient appointments, read their administrative and clinical correspondence, attend a video based consultation and store a personal copy of their records. Bringing together Zesty and Induction Healthcare’s technologies, the group will now be one of the first technology platforms to connect patients, clinicians and healthcare information across both multiple hospital sites and EPR platforms, which could represent a significant paradigm shift in clinician-to-patient communication. Dr Hugo Stephenson, CEO of Induction, said: “Zesty has solved the problem of integrating with different electronic patient record systems. Connecting the most used app by NHS doctors (Induction) and the most used app by NHS trusts (MicroGuide) with patients and their health records, has the potential to deliver the right resources to the right places at the right time - a transformational opportunity for healthcare.” James Balmain, CEO of Zesty, said: “I see the frustration that clinical teams and patients feel every day. Basic things, like updating a patient record or booking an appointment - are just not easy enough. So an app for doctors, connected to an app for patients makes total sense. Induction and Zesty coming together can help improve the way healthcare is delivered.” A better way to communicate? Communication between clinicians, patients and administrators has been a longstanding challenge, and many healthtech companies are trying to modernise existing, inefficient systems of letters, written notes and bleeps (pagers). Speaking to Balmain, he was keen to emphasise the potential of the new collaborative approach when it comes to clinician-to-patient communication: “We want to form a single communication channel right through from patient to clinician and administration, which provides a huge opportunity for speeding up so much of healthcare, making it more efficient, dropping the costs and making healthcare more sustainable.” Balmain went on to talk about his vision of asynchronous communication between patients and clinicians: instead of patients having designated time with clinicians and the amount of ‘healthcare’ being fixed by time (synchronous), a flexible communication channel could now be opened from the clinician to the patient, via an EPR, so communication could be ad-hoc and documented in their notes, i.e. asynchronous. In practical terms, it’s the difference between giving each of your friends 30 minutes per day to speak to you in person versus replying to them as and when, remotely on Whatsapp. Balmain sees the latter being used in healthcare to increase efficiency. And in the context of Covid-19, where backlogs mean healthcare providers are encouraged to look for ways to increase efficiency, one might expect new healthcare systems that include asynchronous communication to be favourable. Usurping the usual barriers It will be interesting to watch the next move from Induction Healthcare Group following this acquisition. Their Induction app securely shares useful information for clinicians and their MicroGuide app is a platform for clinician guidelines, supporting the likes of Barts Health NHS Trust in the Nightingale London project with antimicrobial and COVID-19 content. Seemingly very simple functionality in both cases. But their utility means Induction is the pocket of most clinicians in the U.K. and Microguide is used across approximately 75% of NHS trusts. Any app now bolted onto Induction Healthcare Group’s platform is a thumb’s width away from being used by 119,000 clinicians and/or 75% of NHS Trusts. In a sector where adoption of technology is what most-often claims companies in the so-called ‘valley of death’ between initial funding and product-market fit, this access to clinicians and NHS Trusts could prove very valuable.

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Digital Health: Identifying and Patenting Digital Health Inventions

Digital Health: Identifying and Patenting Digital Health Inventions

Monday 17th August 2020, 2:00pm (London UK - BST) 45mins   What will the talk cover? The current pace and scale of health care innovation has led to the emergence of a broad range of new digital health technologies which…

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Do you know why you should attend The Virtual Giant Health Event 2020?

Do you know why you should attend The Virtual Giant Health Event 2020?

Here are some reasons: Engage with leaders in digital health Abundant networking opportunities Free .health domain Full CPD points FREE IHM Annual Membership Buy ticket here.

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Joyance Partners is a global early-stage venture capital partnership

Joyance Partners is a global early-stage venture capital partnership

As the first venture fund centered on delightful moments — the small quanta of time that bring greater joy, confidence, calm, control, and absence of anxiety or pain — Joyance works actively with universities, government organizations, accelerators, angel networks, and…

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P4 Precision Medicine Accelerator opens 2021 programme applications

P4 Precision Medicine Accelerator opens 2021 programme applications

Powered by Barclays Eagle Labs, the P4 programme curates a unique ecosystem to support precision medicine SMEs develop research into world leading technology. Apply here. #HealthTech #MedTech #PrecisionMedicine

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Pharma Scientist #1 Online News Portal for Pharmaceutical Sciences

Pharma Scientist #1 Online News Portal for Pharmaceutical Sciences

Pharma Scientist specialize in providing news and events in advanced therapies, controlled substances, drug discovery and development, pharma and biopharma, logistics and manufacturing and digital health tech. Check out their website here.

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