Posts by: Tanya Mulcahy

Limerick based Yellow Schedule Provides Technology to Enable Safe Visiting for Cork’s SIVUH

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New tech solution for scheduling hospital visiting hours goes “live” at Cork hospital

Connecting patients and loved ones safely during COVID-19

Thursday 8th October, 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic has seen a rise in connected health and digital solutions at the forefront of Irish healthcare. The pandemic has provided hospi-tals with a variety of challenges including the scheduling of safe visiting appointments for family members to patients in our hospitals across the country. As the winter approaches and we as a country have been placed in lockdown Level 3, a solution to safely visit patients in hospital is essential.
The Covid-19 global pandemic has brought into sharp focus the urgent requirement for the management of visitors through healthcare facilities while protecting the psychological well-being of patients and long-term care senior residents which was addressed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Preventing and managing COVID-19 across long-term care services’ July 2020.
The South Infirmary Victoria Hospital (SIVUH) in Cork part of the South/South West Hospi-tal Group was faced like many other healthcare institutions across the country with a chal-lenge, to re-introduce visiting in a way that was safe for patients, their visitors and the hos-pital staff. The added and continuing challenge during a pandemic was to retain a record of the visit for contact tracing purposes.
Health Innovation Hub Ireland (HIHI) was approached to help find a solution. HIHI is a joint initiative of the Department of Health and Department of Business Enterprise and Employment. HIHI offers companies like YellowSchedule the innovator of this new tech solution, the opportunity for pilot studies and also provides the health service with access to innovative products, services and devices.

Since it was launched in September 2016, HIHI has managed 552 company engagements, 227 of these have resulted in follow-up support activities and 71 of these have developed into active projects within the Irish healthcare system. HIHI also recently triaged 200 innovative healthcare solutions through its Covid-19 Innovation Portal and continues to promote innovation through its HIHI Innovation Portal.
Working together during the pandemic, HIHI met with YellowSchedule, who had a com-mercially available appointment system. The hub’s unique innovation pathway where HIHI supports a solution’s development from idea to bedside was set into action here. It was clear from the beginning that YellowSchedule had the required competencies in their online scheduling and appointment booking software. HIHI worked with Yellow Schedule to pro-vide a solution for the SIVUH and with additional software design and modifications to the product, this challenge was successfully addressed. Targeted design solutions were tailored to meet the SIVUH requirements which included bottlenecks related to the flow of visitors; the resource burden of a manual system; and most importantly during the pandemic con-sistent, reliable and timely contact tracing.
Full commitment from YellowSchedule in responding to design requirements and fine tun-ing developments during the testing phase meant that the solution was launched quickly and effectively. Live testing and extensive training secured high confidence in the system from staff.
YellowSchedule’s digital solution has enabled SIVUH facilities to re-introduce patient visits in a safe and controlled manner while adhering to the latest public health guidelines. Addi-tionally, it has reduced the administration burden on staff associated with scheduling visi-tors over the phone and conducting screening in-person as well as the reduction of queue-ing at busy entrance points where social distancing may not be possible. Most importantly it has led to, an accurate single source of data to enable contact tracing for infection control teams.

Speaking at “go live” day of this unique visitor scheduling tool, Martina Skelly, CEO of Yel-low Schedule said:

“The Covid-19 pandemic has been a very difficult and worrying period for most people so it has been hugely rewarding to work with SIVUH and Health Innovation Hub Ireland to facilitate the reconnection of loved ones through the launch of this visitor scheduling and contact tracing platform. The commitment of SIVUH staff to provide quality of care for their patients has been evident from the start. They took every effort to ensure a system that would enable longer-stay patients to benefit from visits from loved ones in a safe and managed way while also building a single accurate source for effective contact tracing purposes. We’re very grateful to Health Innovation Hub Ireland for facilitating this project and supporting it with the resources and expertise required to ensure that it could be launched quickly and effectively”.

Dr. Tanya Mulcahy, National Manager, Health Innovation Hub Ireland welcomed the collaborative approach: “HIHI’s role is to connect innovative healthcare solutions with an unmet healthcare need. In this case SIVUH required a solution to enable scheduling and tracking to ensure patients could receive visitors in a safe and managed manner. Yellow Schedule, an Irish company, had recently applied to the HIHI Healthcare Innovation Call and was able to deliver this solution. Our role was to broker the engagement, identifying what a solution should deliver and ensuring that SIVUH requirements were met”.

Project Lead/ADON of SIVUH Ms. Breeda Kelly welcomed the new system: “At SIVUH patients and visitors are our priority. Yellow Schedule alongside the expertise provided by HIHI, found a digital solution to a work flow problem with the healthcare system. The response from visitors has been rewarding. When surveyed the visitors highly rated the system as either “Very Good” or “Excellent”. This platform now provides a secure way for family members and friends to book visits with their loved ones at our hospital, to be pre-screened for Covid-19 on the morning of the visit and to receive a bar code to enable fast track entry to the hospital. This reduces the demands on resources at the hospital, reduces queueing in reception areas and ultimately ensures patients and visitors get to maximise their precious time together in a safe environment”.

Ends

Notes to the Editor:

For more information or to arrange interviews: Caroline.mcgarry@ucc.ie, 087 2266062

@hihireland Health-Innovation-Hub_Ireland

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About YellowSchedule

YellowSchedule is an award winning Irish Appointment Scheduling Platform. With over 12m appointments made through the platform to date and international clients such as Novartis, the University of Berkeley and the Feinberg School of Medicine at NorthWestern Yellow Schedule has a wealth of knowledge and experience in delivering scheduling solutions to solve our clients’ workflow requirements.

About South Infirmary-Victoria Hospital (SIVUH)
We at the South Infirmary-Victoria Hospital are committed to providing the highest quality service to all our patients in a friendly, safe and caring environment. We endeavour to pro-vide an effective, efficient service in a timely manner with equal access for all our patients. We aim to provide individual patient centred care to each patient and their families and promote patient participation in their care. We encourage good interpersonal relationships. We promote staff and service development through education, motivation and encourage-ment. We are committed to providing an effective learning environment for future health service staff.
We are a 192 bed Voluntary Teaching Hospital affiliated to University College Cork and ca-tering for approximately 38,500 discharges and 72,500 outpatients each year. We are part of the South/South West Hospital Group.
The Hospital is the Regional Centre for E.N.T. and Dermatology Services. The Hospital also plays a very prominent role in Endocrinology and Rheumatology services in the region. Ser-vices are continually developing and expanding at the Hospital.
About Health Innovation Hub Ireland
Health Innovation Hub Ireland (HIHI) works across the health sector with Irish businesses to creatively solve problems and improve patient care. Harnessing this innovation, through development of new healthcare technologies, products, and services, will help to create Irish jobs and exports. Operationally HIHI is a partnership of clinical and academic centres from across the country. HIHI works directly with three hospital groups (South/South West, Dublin Midlands and Saolta in the West/North West), the HIHI network can also access all acute and community hospitals, pharmacies, primary care centres and healthcare centres. Academic partners are UCC and CIT, TCD and NUI Galway respectively.

The HIHI national team includes HSE assigned staff from pharmacy to clinical research nurses and biomedical engineers. Team members with both academic and corporate backgrounds further strengthen this mix. The Government group tasked with overseeing HIHI – National Oversight Group, chaired by Dave Shanahan includes the Department of Health, the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Enterprise Ireland, e health Ireland, HSE, IDA, the Health Research Board and Science Foundation Ireland.

The Covid-19 global pandemic has brought into sharp focus the urgent require-ment for the management of visitors through healthcare facilities while protecting the psychological well-being of patients and long term care senior residents.

The WHO policy briefing Preventing and managing COVID-19 across long-term care ser-vices noted that COVID-19 has disproportionately affected residents in long-term care facili-ties. Key stated objectives to the policy document include;
1. Preventing and managing Covid-19 in long term facilities.
2. Prioritizing the psychological well-being of people receiving and providing long-term care services & providing support for family and voluntary caregivers.
To achieve these aims the briefing recommends the following key actions;
• Establishing clear visiting policies that provide balance between infection prevention and control measures and the need for people to maintain their psychological well-being.
• Enabling residents to have visitors while minimizing the risk of COVID-19 entering long-term care facilities.
• Implementing surveillance upon entrance to a facility for visitors, including screen-ing for signs and symptoms of Covid-19.

HIHI COVID-19 Portal – submit your solutions now!

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HIHI  working with EI to  support our healthcare system against COVID-19

HIHI COVID-19 Solutions Portal – submit your ready to implement solutions to our database and working with Enterprise Ireland, we’ll endeavour to make it available to those who need it.

We are in unprecedented times, the normal process and order that has informed our days up to now has completely changed.
At HIHI, our function is to connect innovative businesses with healthcare, providing them with access to our healthcare experts, end-users and sometimes patients to test and pilot their products. We always do this while considering the needs of the healthcare system. Now more than ever our healthcare system has NEEDS. Now more than ever we need to act fast to address those needs. Over the past few weeks we at HIHI have been overwhelmed with calls and emails from innovators, companies and experts offering their support.
Our HSE staff and wider healthcare teams are focussing on patients and public health and they don’t have the time to review every offer. To assist with this we are creating a resource for them and for other entities in Ireland in their fight against this pandemic. We are working with Enterprise Ireland to help our healthcare system meet the demands of the pandemic. We want to capture all your products, services and expertise in one location so that it can be reviewed by those who are looking for solutions, both urgent and longer term.

The HIHI COVID-19 Solutions Portal is live on our website, here we will capture all these solutions in one location and make it available to our government agencies.

What do you need to do?
If you have a solution, product or expertise that is directly related or may have an impact on COVID-19 abatement, please go to www.hih.ie and follow the Covid-19 link. Simply complete the easy to fill form and submit it.

What will we do with this information?
HIHI working with Enterprise Ireland and partners will try to direct your information to wherever it is needed. We will make the information available to the relevant government entities. We may be back in touch with you for further information. We cannot guarantee that your information will match a need or be used, but this database will capture as many solutions as possible, some may be needed now, some at a later stage.

Ní neart go cur le chéile

Final few days to apply to our Health Innovation Call closes January 31st- HIHI will provide access to Irish healthcare system and pilot your innovative product

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Press Release

Health Innovation Hub Ireland launches call to business to tackle chronic illness with innovative technologies and solutions

Monday 16th December 2019. Health Innovation Hub Ireland today launched a national call to business to provide innovative solutions for healthcare as well as a specific call for the prevention, early diagnosis, and self-management of chronic illness.

Applications may be submitted to either the Open Call, for innovations that address ANY healthcare need or the Focussed Call for innovations that address a HSE identified priority theme. For December 2019, it centres on Supporting Self-Management of Chronic Disease including cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease and diabetes.

Dr. Colman Casey, Director of HIHI explained the specifics of the call. “While the innovations submitted to the HIHI Focussed Call should support the day-to-day self- management for those diagnosed with one (or more) of the identified chronic diseases (cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease and diabetes), it may also include early detection and identification of risk factors and provide options for disease prevention. The solution must demonstrate how it could integrate or work co-operatively with current healthcare supports for chronic illness in Ireland.”

Minister for Health, Simon Harris TD, said “I welcome the launch of Health Innovation Hub Ireland’s third call since 2016. I am happy to see that this call has both an Open Call for innovation in healthcare and also a focussed call that relates to ‘Supporting Self-Management of Chronic Disease’. In Ireland approximately 1 million people suffer from Diabetes, Asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) or Cardiovascular disease.

‘I am delighted to see that this call is in line with one of Sláintecare’s programmes which fo- cuses on implementing Integrated Care Programmes focused on people with chronic condi- tions and older people.

There are also many projects around the country which received funding through the €20 mil- lion Sláintecare Integration Fund which focus on people with chronic disease and supporting them to engage in chronic disease self-management.

This will also compliment the additional investment of €40m in 2020 in the reformed GP con- tract to commence the roll out of a structured Chronic Disease Management Programme in

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January 2020 targeted at GMS clients aged 75+ with specified chronic disease, focussing on prevention, more treatment in the community and hospital avoidance.’

The work of HIHI has great potential to improve patient experiences and outcomes. I look forward to seeing what innovative ideas and projects come from this call.”

Welcoming the call to enterprise Heather Humphreys TD, Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation said: “As Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation I would strongly encourage enterprises working in this space to respond to HIHI’s calls to address healthcare needs.

Ireland has a wealth of indigenous and international innovative med-tech companies and I would like to see them get involved in this initiative which can benefit both patients and business.”

Why Chronic Disease? According to the WHO, ‘the burden of chronic diseases is rapidly increasing worldwide. It has been calculated that, in 2001, chronic diseases contributed approximately 60% of the 56.5 million total reported deaths in the world and approximately 46% of the global burden of disease. The proportion of the burden of non-communicable disease (NCDs) is expected to increase to 57% by 2020. Almost half of the total chronic disease deaths are attributable to cardiovascular diseases; obesity and diabetes are also showing worrying trends, not only because they already affect a large proportion of the population, but

also because they have started to appear earlier in life.’

https://www.who.int/nutrition/topics/2_background/en/

Since it was launched in September 2016, HIHI has managed 265 company engagements, 166 of these have resulted in follow-up support activities and 60 of these have developed into active projects within the Irish healthcare system.

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HIHI is a joint initiative of the Department of Health and Department of Business Enterprise and Innovation. As a unique joint government initiative, HIHI offers companies the opportunity for pilot and clinical validation studies and provides the health service with access to innovative products, services, devices. HIHI works to impact Irish business and Irish healthcare in 3 key areas.

1. Industry: HIHI matches companies with relevant clinical teams, overseeing a study of each product in an Irish clinical setting.
2. Healthcare: HIHI works with healthcare staff to assess ideas that address problems they have encountered in their work. HIHI provides advice and direction on commercialisation and product development and links innovators to the healthcare innovation ecosystem in Ireland. 3. Education: Delivering a series of five HIHI workshops and a Diploma

in Healthcare Innovation, HIHI is embedding an innovation culture in Irish healthcare.
HIHI issues an annual call but also welcomes direct engagement through any of its offices in Cork, Dublin and Galway.

Dr. Tanya Mulcahy, National HIHI Manager outlines the application process “The HIHI call is open for submissions until 5pm on Friday January 31st, 2020.

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Companies must submit an application form, available for download on hih.ie. Short- listed applicants are invited to pitch to an expert HIHI panel. The panel is comprised of subject matter experts along withrepresentatives from Enterprise Ireland, Science Foundation Ireland, Health Research Board and the HSE. For each successful application HIHI oversees a study of each product in an Irish clinical setting and then authors a report upon completion of the study. The completed report can offer leverage for products in international markets, enhance distribution opportunities and inform further development.”

Enterprise Ireland Director of Life Sciences, Deirdre Glenn added: “Ireland’s Life Sci- ence’s sector is continuing to flourish and contribute to the improvements being met across healthcare services and better outcomes for patients.

“Since it was set-up, the Health Innovation Hub has fostered several innovative healthcare products and services that have gone on to achieve major success. This latest call to businesses to step forward with their technologies and solutions not only benefits patients but is aimed too at helping Irish-based companies to sell their products in new markets overseas.

“We have been so pleased to support the initiative since it was established, and Enterprise Ireland remains focused on supporting companies in the sector that are improving the health of others living with chronic diseases, and in parallel are further elevating Ireland’s status as a global leader in healthcare solutions.”

Ends

Notes to the Editor:
For more information or to arrange interviews: Caroline.mcgarry@ucc.ie, 087 2266062

@hihireland Health-Innovation-Hub_Ireland

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About Health Innovation Hub Ireland
Health Innovation Hub Ireland (HIHI) works across the health sector with Irish businesses to creatively solve problems and improve patient care. Harnessing this innovation, through development of new healthcare technologies, products, and services, will help to create Irish jobs and exports. Operationally HIHI is a partnership of clinical and academic centres from across the country. HIHI works directly with three hospital groups (South/South West, Dublin Midlands and Saolta in the West/North West), the HIHI network can also access all acute and community hospitals, pharmacies, primary care centres and healthcare centres. Academic partners are UCC and CIT, TCD and NUI Galway respectively.

The HIHI national team includes HSE assigned staff from pharmacy to clinical research nurses and biomedical engineers. Team members with both academic and corporate backgrounds further strengthen this mix. The Government group tasked with overseeing HIHI –

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National Oversight Group, chaired by Dave Shanahan includes the Department of Health, the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Enterprise Ireland, e health Ireland, HSE, IDA, the Health Research Board and Science Foundation Ireland.

About Chronic Disease

The HSE Integrated Care Programme for the Prevention and Management of Chronic Disease states that ‘approximately 1 million people in Ireland today suffer from Diabetes, Asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) or Cardiovascular disease. The Irish longitudinal study on ageing, TILDA, reports that 64.8% of our over 65 age cohort live with co-morbidity. This is defined as the presence of two or more chronic conditions. The current and projected impact of chronic disease represents a major challenge not just for the health services, but also for Irish society and the Irish economy. We have more people living with chronic disease and multiple co-morbidity, they are living longer with the disease, and while it is good that the range of treatments available is increasing and improving, this also comes at a cost. Unless we plan for these changes now, we are going to run into significant difficulties in ten years’ time. In fact, we are facing those difficulties already, as we can see in the 5% to 6% increase in the presentations to our emergency departments year on year and the impact that this is having on our acute hospital system and, in particular, available bed capacity for elective work.

The way we currently provide care for these chronic conditions is relatively ineffective, inefficient and ultimately unsustainable. Too many people end up needing hospital admission due to their chronic disease; which is something that these patients would prefer to avoid. Too many people depend on hospital out-patient services for management of their chronic diseases; which results in delays in appointments for all patients and they may experience gaps in their care as services are stretched.

We need a better way of caring for people with these diseases, and we need to do more to prevent them’. https://www.hse.ie/eng/about/who/cspd/icp/chronic-disease/

The HSE National Service Plan 2019 states that ‘the three most common chronic diseases are cancer, cardiovascular disease and respiratory disease. These diseases give rise to three quarters of deaths in Ireland. It is estimated that over 1.07m people over the age of 18 years currently have one or more chronic diseases (based on analysis of The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA), wave1, 2017 and Quarterly National Household Survey, special module on health, 2010). However, chronic disease increases with age, the highest prevalence observed in the population aged 50 years and over. The number of people in this age cohort, living with one or more chronic disease, is estimated to increase by 40% from 2016 levels, to 1.09m in 2030 (based on analysis of TILDA data, 2018). Multi-morbidity is common in older people with 45.3% of adults aged 65 years and over affected by arthritis, 44.4% by high blood pressure, 11.8% by diabetes and 3.7% by stroke (TILDA wave 3, 2014-2015)’.https://www.hse.ie/eng/services/publications/serviceplans/national-service-plan-2019.pdf

ViClarity

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About HIHI Company Case studies

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HIHI secured ViClarity its first clinical study in a public Irish hospital. The company has leveraged the study both domestically and internationally when making the ViClarity pitch. It has secured a high-profile client base with healthcare companies such as Mowlam, MHA and most recently the NHS began using its technology solution.

ViClarity has a software tool that monitors compliance with Regulatory Standards. It was originally designed for the Financial Services Industry. In late 2016, ViClarity engaged with HIHI to define a pilot study in the Community Hospital Killarney. The study was driven by their desire to improve on the current manual auditing and compliance measurements within the hospital, overloaded by HIQA standards paperwork.

Based on the HIHI pilot study, the ViClarity system has been procured by the HSE for implementation in 23 community hospitals across Cork and Kerry.

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Feeltect

Galway-based wound care company, FeelTect, have developed Tight Alright, a pressure sensing, connected-health device for measuring and monitoring sub-bandage pressure during compression therapy, primarily for the millions of people worldwide with venous leg ulcers (VLUs). Compression is a proven therapy for VLUs, however if it’s applied too loose, it’s ineffective, and if it’s too tight, it’s dangerous. Yet studies have shown that it can be extremely difficult for experienced healthcare professionals to achieve a targeted pressure with existing products. As such, Tight Alright aims to improve the application and maintenance of evidence- based therapy, ensuring safety while reducing healing times.

Founder and CEO, Dr Andrew Cameron, engaged HIHI to conduct a user feedback and validation study ‘we needed access to end users to demonstrate proof of concept, these studies are essential in developing Tight Alright as a truly wearable product, our aim is to make it the first device capable of continuously monitoring compression therapy outside the clinical setting”.

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Prof John Higgins discussing the need for innovations in the management of Chronic Illness and across all sectors of healthcare in the latest issue of Medical Independent

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Call for innovative solutions for chronic disease

A national call by Health Innovation Hub Ireland (HIHI) to business to provide innovative solutions for healthcare as well as a specific call for the prevention, early diagnosis, and self-management of chronic illness will run until the end of January.

Applications may be submitted to either the open call, for innovations that address any healthcare need or the focused call for innovations that address a HSE identified priority theme. For this submission period, the focused call centres on supporting self-management of chronic disease including cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease and diabetes.

Speaking to the Medical Independent (MI), Lead Principal Investigator HIHI Prof John Higgins described the innovations in the development in the area of chronic disease as the “holy grail” in healthcare.

“Chronic disease creates a massive burden on the health service,” according to Prof Higgins.

“This makes identifying risk factors, and also self-management incredibly important. And for this we need innovative solutions.”

Prof Higgins said HIHI is now an important part of the healthcare landscape in harnessing innovation to improve patient care.

Since it was launched in September 2016, HIHI has managed 265 company engagements, 166 of these have resulted in follow-up support activities and 60 of these have developed into active projects within the Irish healthcare system.

Companies must submit an application form, available for download on hih.ie.  Short-listed applicants are invited to pitch to an expert HIHI panel. The panel is comprised of subject matter experts along with representatives from Enterprise Ireland, Science Foundation Ireland, Health Research Board and the HSE. For each successful application HIHI oversees a study of each product in an Irish clinical setting and then authors a report upon completion of the study. The completed report can offer leverage for products in international markets, enhance distribution opportunities and inform further development.

 

Dave Shanahan, Chair of the HIHI National Oversight Group talks about the Challenges in Health Today.

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Where would you like to see the health service in 10 years’ time?

My checklist would be:

•Intolerance of mediocrity, partnering with patients, empowering clinical leadership

•Digitally enabled, committed to innovation.

•Enlightened procurement models supporting Irish jobs

•Healthcare metrics driving national health improvement

•Intensely collaborative, quality based, blind to silo’s or boundaries

•Rigorously implementing and scaling innovation everywhere in everything

•Prevention-biased, state, employer and insurer incentives for personal health management and improvement

•Independent governance, rooted in practicality, with lean, efficient and temporary bureaucracy

•Agile, fit for purpose, diverse workforce, flexible employment contracts

•Outward looking in perspective, enthusiastic in mission, driven towards continuous improvement

•Staff ratio’s prioritised to care, back-office/administration rationalised, high performance rewarded, recognised and celebrated.

https://www.businesspost.ie/commercial-reports/there-are-major-challenges-and-opportunities-89e44545