An initiative to see 150 general practice (GP) clinics across the UK city of Manchester fitted with the clinically validated LungHealth software in a bid to drive up diagnoses could save the UK’s health service £65.6m a year.
The partnership between Italian biopharmaceutical group Chiesi Farmaceutici and Health Innovation Manchester, will implement UK company LungHealth’s software in GP clinics across the city. The software provides doctors access to embedded algorithms based on national and international guidelines to drive computer-guided consultations for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) annual reviews.
The MISSION initiative seeks to determine whether the widescale implementation of LungHealth’s software will lead to an improvement in the overall quality, effectiveness and consistency of reviews to reduce the impact of asthma or COPD exacerbations in patients and in turn the National Health Service (NHS) as a whole.
Chiesi argues that NHS England may be able to save up to £65.6m in the first year assuming all practices implement the LungHealth software. At the same time, the company says that data collected from its Manchester-wide project will be presented to support NHS decision-making on the long-term adoption of technology to support respiratory reviews.
Ralph Blom, general manager of Chiesi UK and Ireland, said: “At Chiesi, we’re dedicated to improving patient outcomes through innovative solutions that support healthcare professionals, the wider NHS and enhance patient care. This partnership is integral to delivering better care for people with respiratory diseases, easing healthcare workloads, and meeting the unmet needs of our local communities. We’re excited to see the positive impact it can have.”
Research conducted by the Department for Health and Social Care found that Manchester was one of the worst cities in the UK when it came to hospital admissions for both COPD and asthma, with the region seeing reports 30% above the national average.
Tracey Vell, medical director, Health Innovation Manchester, said: “The software will help clinical reviews of patients for busy GP practices and ensure patients are provided with the optimal care. The implementation of the LungHealth software will enable more efficient reviews in line with the very latest guidance, easing the burden on Primary Care, with better care for patients.”
Elsewhere in the field of medical software, Massachusetts-based blood pressure monitoring wearable company Dynocardia has announced that it has been the recipient of a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant totalling $500k to advance the company’s wrist-mounted device. Meanwhile, research has found that artificial intelligence (AI) chest X-rays can detect the early symptoms of lung cancer up to three years before symptoms present themselves.
