Visionable and Bupa Cromwell Hospital have announced a partnership which will see Visionable’s video collaboration platform used to treat patients based in the UK and abroad during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Easily accessible using an app, the platform connects doctors not only with their patients but also their peers, allowing them to safely and securely share patient records and hold international multi-disciplinary team meetings. This means that doctors can come together remotely to share best practice for patients – something which was previously commonplace but has been made challenging by lockdown.
The healthcare-specific system is also being used to support virtual consultations and remote rehabilitation, so patients can remain in the safety of their homes while still accessing world-class medical care.
Philip Luce, Bupa Cromwell Hospital director, said: “We introduced Visionable for virtual patient appointments at the very beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic so they could continue with their consultant appointments and adhere to social distancing and travel guidelines. Many of our consultants are now using the platform, with more seeing the benefits and joining each day.
“Although lockdown measures are beginning to ease, we know that a service like this is still going to be incredibly important for patients to access healthcare professionals safely and securely from their homes. The service is of particular benefit to our numerous international patients, enabling them to access London-based clinicians.”
Visionable has developed a collaboration platform specifically for healthcare. It enables an unlimited number of users to work together, by sharing screens, audio and video streams.
The company has a ten-year record of supporting multi-disciplinary team meetings, virtual clinics, and connected healthcare services in the NHS, while working in the US and India to further its vision of making healthcare more equitable and accessible for everyone.
Alan Lowe, chief executive, Visionable, said: “Bupa Cromwell Hospital’s decision to use Visionable demonstrates the potential of new technology to transform care pathways in ways that make them more efficient for healthcare providers and safer for their users.
“Since the hospital signed with Visionable, the number of meetings minutes delivered over the platform has grown from 3,600 in March to 39,000 in June. That shows the enthusiasm with which clinical staff will adopt systems that deliver for them and the patients they serve.
“We expect to see significant continued uptake of video conferencing technology as healthcare learns from its ‘pivot to digital’ during the coronavirus pandemic and seeks to embed its benefits in the services of the future.”
The hospital is using the Visionable platform for multiple reasons. Firstly, as an alternative to in-person consultations where possible, so that patients can safely have their consultations from the comfort of their homes.
Secondly, to enable consultants to discuss patient cases as part of virtual multidisciplinary team meetings. These meetings would previously have taken place face-to-face, but due to the Covid-19 pandemic they were taken online, with Visionable the chosen platform to facilitate this.
Third, to run virtual consultations to enable London-based clinical teams to prepare patients who need to travel internationally for surgery and to deliver post-surgical care when they are back in their home countries. And finally to run physiotherapy rehabilitation clinics.
Giles Davies, consultant oncoplastic breast surgeon, Bupa Cromwell Hospital, said: “Virtual consultations have been incredibly beneficial to patients, especially those who are going through or recovering from cancer treatment and are deemed clinically vulnerable, which means that reducing trips to the hospital is essential.
“The technology is secure and easy to use, and we are able to share our screens with patients, so they are able to see any images or test results. They receive a full report following the appointment and details of their treatment plan, if needed.
“We know that patients are going to feel anxious about being in a hospital environment for the foreseeable future and may put off seeking advice for any signs or symptoms they’re worried about. Using a platform, such as Visionable, means they can seek medical help from the safety of their homes.”