Double win for Worthing health business at national awards

At the HSJ Partnership awards last night in London – the `Oscars of the health industry’ - the digital health technology specialist won the Best Elective Care Recovery Initiative for its work with Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust. The partnership introduced an app which allows Royal Surrey patients to complete their pre-assessment for surgery from the safety and comfort of their own home.

And on the same night, Definition Health won the Partnership with the NHS – Acute Care category at the Medilink Healthcare Business Awards in Manchester.

“We are absolutely delighted for ourselves and our NHS partners to win these awards which celebrate and recognise the hard work and commitment of everyone involved to bring about a digital change to improve patient outcomes,“ said Sandeep Chauhan, orthopaedic surgeon and co-founder of Definition Health. The company was created by Sussex medics and IT specialists in 2018 and is based at the Sussex Innovation Centre in Falmer.

Definition LifeBox, a pre-operative health assessment app, was introduced to Royal Surrey in April last year. It allows patients to complete their pre-assessment at home ahead of a procedure. The app generates patient-specific questions to fully identify the individual’s level of risk ensuring they are `surgery-ready’.

Two-way file sharing between the Trust and the patient allows for secure exchange of information such as test results, fasting advice and useful information to reassure and inform patients. Medical concerns, such as blood pressure or anaemia, are identified early and brought under control, greatly improving outcomes and preventing last-minute cancellations on the day of surgery.

Royal Surrey consultant anaesthetist Dr Harsh Saxena said the benefits of using LifeBox were many.

“It empowers patients and engages them more fully in their own care, educating them about their surgical procedure and facilitating smooth admission. “It also allows us to improve standardisation of patient care and reduce unnecessary hospital visits. Completing part of their pre-assessment away from the hospital not only lessens the stress for patients, but it also allows close family and friends to be more involved in the process and support their loved ones more effectively.”

•Definition Health’s digital solutions are currently being used by 23 hospitals across England, both private and NHS, and to date 120,000 patients have been, or are being, pre-assessed by its digital apps. Visit definitionhealth.co.uk