Healthtech accelerator, HS., and leading GP-on-demand service, GPDQ have partnered to take on the massive unmet need for healthcare technology and solve critical issues faced by UK patients, following the recent call from Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard Chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners, to drive more innovation into primary care.
Primary care has, historically, led the way in healthcare innovation, evidenced by the roll-out of electronic health records years before the rest of the sector has even entered a serious conversation on the topic; yet primary care is notoriously difficult to penetrate for modern digital health entrepreneurs, who hold the answers to many of the biggest challenges for health and care services in the community.
Today, entrepreneurs and start-ups lack crucial access to clinicians and commissioners to effectively test or even validate their innovations, causing an enormous barrier for the successful adoption of healthtech in the primary care setting.
However, having only officially launched in April this year, HS. already has an established ecosystem to build, scale and invest in the brightest minds and the best healthtech start-ups. Now, in partnership with GPDQ, who have provided on-demand GP services to over 5,000 patients in their own homes and workplaces, the two forward-thinking companies have spearheaded a first-of-its-kind programme to fast-track the highest-potential healthtech startups focussed on primary care to solve real problems for patients.
Working with over 60 NHS GPs at the forefront of patient care, with a responsibility for thousands of patients, this collaboration will bridge the huge chasm that has traditionally existed between entrepreneurs and UK GP services.
Paul Roberts, GPDQ CEO, comments on the new partnership, “We’re really pleased to be partnering with HS., given their deep understanding of what’s needed for successful innovation in healthcare. The current debate presents a false choice between new technology and personal, face-to-face care.
“GPDQ’s mission to build sustainable healthcare systems through community-based primary care involves putting NHS GPs and patients at the heart of broader healthtech innovation. GPs have a big role to play in supporting patient-facing trials, and we’re proud to offer a key link that has been difficult for innovators to access until now.
“Our partnership with HS. enables us to work with other innovators to put new technology into the hands of our NHS GPs and develop solutions that bring together the best of both worlds – technology with a human touch. Together, we provide a crucial link to deliver patient-facing, real-world test-beds for innovations.”
Dr James Somauroo, Founding Partner of HS., comments,“By partnering with GPDQ, we have now built the fastest and most impactful route to market for anyone with an idea or solution in primary care. Of the 100 cutting-edge, healthtech startups HS. will be supporting over the next 12 months, we want half of them to be focussed on providing benefit to primary care to gain from this incredible route to market.
“This is a perfect example of innovation pathways that are necessary in the healthcare system: entrepreneurs co-developing solutions with GPs and patients to ensure that we combine technology with a proper understanding of the vital, human touchpoints. In doing so, our innovators can now ensure that their products improve clinical care and make a real impact in people’s lives.
“One of the innovators taking part in the partnership is Feebris, whose AI and machine learning platform can ease the burden on the primary care system by accurately predicting and preventing disease. This technology is now finally in the hands of NHS GPs and can be designed and developed around the UK health systems and the way GPs work.”
Commenting on the impact of the partnership, Elina Naydenova, Founder of Feebris – an AI-powered mobile health platform that utilises technology to diagnose and monitor the health of children and the elderly in the community, “As one of the very first start-ups to be accepted onto the HS. accelerator programme, we have witnessed the incredible value of working with industry experts, as well as clinicians who can use Feebris to make a difference in their care for patients. Through HS. and GPDQ, amazing access to networks that would otherwise have taken years to gain, if ever at all, have already proven to be such a benefit, enabling us to keep evolving and gain vital traction, helping us to make impact where it matters most: on the frontline of the NHS.”