Bitjam Preferred Partner in Keele Business Bridge Programme for Second Year
Bitjam is proud to announce that we have been successfully selected to be the preferred partner for the Keele Business Bridge programme for a second year running. Bitjam will be providing a range of services from consultation on telehealth plus app and software development.
What is the Business Bridge?
Keele Business Bridge provides innovation support for a priority value/sector market, which focuses on both UK and overseas healthcare and med-tech markets. Led by the University and University Hospitals North Midlands, the programme will be building on a long-term relationship, providing access to wide-ranging expertise.
Staffordshire-based businesses within the healthcare markets can access funded specialist support, particularly services in technical and scientific advice, collaborative working on R&D projects and design, testing and validation of products. Successful companies can expect to receive business support, an innovation fund of £7000 and/or collaborative R&D.
The programme forms part of the new Keele Deal initiative, a strategic partnership between local authorities, Keele, Hospital Trust, the LEP and local business. The goal is to create an economic deal that harnesses the value of Keele as a research-intensive University to create higher value jobs locally.
We continue to meet the required criteria as an innovation partner because of our considerable knowledge and expertise in designing and collaborating on relevant projects in the health and social care industry. We’re looking forward to working with local companies with innovative ideas that match our company vision of harnessing technology to provide relief to vulnerable members of society.
Simple Telehealth: Nellie®
Nellie® is an SMS-based system underpinned by Simple Telehealth methodology, that’s been designed to encourage patient self-care, promote positive behaviour activation and improve the effectiveness of ongoing treatment.
“I do visualise Nellie as someone, giving me a prompt. She’s quite persistent!”
We worked closely with Simple Telehealth and SEMPHN bringing together evidence-based methodology, clinical best practice and modern software design to develop a clinical system where clinicians and patients can interact and communicate easily. The Nellie® system is designed for clinicians, by clinicians, allowing Doctors and Nurses to collaborate on the management of patient communications.
“Initially, it was somebody texting me, but now it’s become a friend”
One of the important outcomes of Nellie® is the social impact it’s had. The SMS and chatbot technologies have proven to enable positive behaviour changes.
“We’ve had some real success stories with Nellie®, from an educational perspective. People who’ve never exercised before consistently developing an exercise programme and really starting to understand the benefits of exercise”
We created a highly resilient, responsive system by working with existing Simple Telehealth methodology to develop the technology. The system creates best practice healthcare, advice and patient education, improved engagement and adherence and better and faster clinical outcomes.
We built the system with security as a key feature to ensure patient confidentiality, as well as considering the integration of third-party technologies with scalability in mind. The system is capable of being expanded internationally and scaling up to reach a wider end user.
The evaluation has started to give us the evidence we expected, suggesting the system is having a clinical impact. The Nellie® project demonstrates the ways in which even the most basic of technology is capable of kickstarting behaviour activation and encourages the continuation of a healthy routine.
“Since the introduction of Nellie® I’ve been motivated to walk and lost 7kg in weight. We’ve reduced a couple of tablets from 20mg to 5mg. Heart medication – 2 tablets a day to one, insulin, I was on 30 units, and now that’s down to 15 units a day, maybe 10. I’m amazed at the results”
To find out more, contact Carl at Bitjam.
Bitjam Working with NHS Trust to Develop New Heart Failure Service
Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent have received £1.2m of new NHS funding to develop innovative digital technologies and treatments that could lead to thousands of fewer hospital admissions nationally. Three products are being developed for the NHS Test Beds programme, that will aim to lower A&E admissions for people with chronic long-term heart problems.
Carl and the team at Bitjam are working with the three other SME’s (Simple Telehealth Ltd, Signum Health Ltd, Health2Works Ltd), recruited to integrate the technologies plus the NHS Trust to develop the new Heart Failure service.
The projects aim is to enhance the heart Failure care pathway, using bespoke patient-education materials, telehealth and referrals to appropriate third-sector services. When it is rolled out nationally it is estimated the project could lead to 24,000 fewer hospital admissions, 240,000 fewer bed days and save £60m.
Dr Ruth Chambers OBE, Clinical Chair for Stoke-on-Trent CCG, said: “In Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire we have led the way in the use of this kind of telehealth technology, including the pioneering Flo system developed locally. This technology is good for patients and good for the NHS.
“Patients feel both supported and empowered when they are able to report back on their symptoms and see that there is something that can be done about it. Patients don’t want to be rushed into hospital if it can be avoided.”
Carl, director at Bitjam, said: “I’m delighted to be involved in such an innovative collaboration between tech developers and the NHS. We are proud to be involved in a project that benefits not only patients but the local economy.”
To find out more, visit University Hospitals of North Midlands.
