Secure healthcare mobile messaging platform Siilo has surpassed 70,000 members and completed NHS Digital’s Information Governance Toolkit assessment, achieving Level 3 status as an ‘NHS Business Partner’.
Siilo is a free, secure and GDPR compliant messaging platform for healthcare that connects physicians and other healthcare professionals on one platform to find, collaborate and share medical knowledge, delivering faster, better and more cost-effective care. Medical teams can directly download Siilo on their phones and be GDPR compliant for mobile forms of communication.
The IG Toolkit is the Department of Health’s Policy delivery vehicle. It draws together the regulations set out by the DoH and presents them in a single standard set of information governance requirements. The ultimate aim is to demonstrate that an organisation can be trusted to maintain the confidentiality and security of personal information.
In comparison with the more common Commercial Third Party organisation type, an NHS Business Partner organisation is assumed to work more closely with the NHS and shares common goals for providing high standards of healthcare directly to patients, which requires extended information governance requirements. Level 3 is the highest standard in the NHS IG Toolkit assessment and the latest endorsement demonstrates the level of information governance Siilo applies to its secure messaging platform, alongside its current ISO 27001 certification.
Joost Bruggeman, former physician and CEO of Siilo said: “While consumer messaging app WhatsApp is considered the gold standard for mobile communication, there are significant concerns about its suitability for the NHS, despite its end-to-end encryption status. Siilo not only removes the risks associated with consumer apps but it also enables GPs, consultants and nurses to handle a crisis more effectively. Our latest achievement and record number of users is further testament to Siilo’s growth and development and our dedication to ensuring patient safety is top priority.”
Darren Lui, spinal and orthopaedic surgeon at St George’s Hospital, London has been using Siilo to communicate with his 50-strong team of consultants, junior staff, specialist physician assistants and specialist nursing staff.
He said: “As a Level 1 trauma centre, we treat a large volume of patients which means communication is essential to ensure the department runs smoothly. Siilo has a direct benefit on how we treat patients in orthopaedics traumas and has transformed the way my team communicates.
“Given the security measures Siilo offers we’re confident using real patient identifiers; name, gender and date of birth. These are necessary social cues that help doctors recognise patients far more effectively than using complicated anonymised patient IDs. I would certainly expect to see it extended into other departments and hospitals across the UK.”
