In response to the Covid-19 pandemic and the ongoing challenges faced by GPs across the country, med-tech company Full Health Medical, has developed a new clinically-driven patient empowerment solution, 'Flow', to create a safer and more efficient manner for GPs to treat patients and to free up procedural and administration time by up to 75 per cent.
Full Health Medical is a software platform designed and driven by doctors to streamline patient care, freeing up doctor’s time and resources and facilitating preventative medicine.
Over the past three weeks, the company’s technology has been repurposed to help specifically with the COVID-19 pandemic. Flow now has a triage element that enables doctors and other healthcare professionals to complete COVID-19 screening before they proceed in assessing patients coming to them with other conditions.
Flow works by being set up on the GP's IT system, then prior to consultation, the GP will send a password and login to the patient, with a link which will direct them to the relevant section of the platform. For example, the Covid-19 section will assist the GP in asking the patient a series of questions. Based on the answers, the GP can make a determination on whether or not a face-to-face consultation is safe or if it should take place by video, or over the phone. Following the consultation, a personalised report is automatically generated by the software and communicates the GP's assessment to the patient, along with next steps and other health guidance
Dr Ann Shortt, Emergency Medicine consultant, GP and Co-founder of Full Health Medical, who is currently working with Covid-19 patients in Mayo University Hospital, spoke of their innovation saying: "We’ve accelerated our own telehealth capabilities since the pandemic started and now more than ever Full Health Medical’s comprehensive patient-centric tool kit can bring real and quantifiable benefits to both patients and doctors in primary care.
"While GPs around the country have increased their use of video calls in order to service their patients, the volume of work involved and the challenges brought about by social distancing to every day practice has highlighted an obvious need for a more extensive patient communications tool that goes beyond just video calls.
"Flow uses smart data analytics to enable GPs to deliver streamlined medical services to patients. The consultation system enables instant generation of personalised, evidence-based medical reports which explain, in easily understandable language, which tests were performed and what actions the patient needs to undertake with minimal clerical input from the GP at the point of care. In a nutshell, Flow process satisfies the modern medical patient’s need for information whilst drastically reducing medical professional resource time, activities and costs."
