PocDoc, the Cambridge-based digital health platform, today announces a major pilot with the NHS Targeted Lung Health Check programme in the North East, in partnership with cardiologist Dr Alan Bagnall and the NIHR Clinical Research Network North East and North Cumbria (CRN NENC).
As documented widely in recent weeks, the NHS England Targeted Lung Health Checks (TLHC) are aiming to screen a million people per year across the UK, finding people with early-stage lung cancer, enabling lifesaving treatment. But these scans also identify the early stages of another common killer – coronary heart disease.
Seventy percent of those attending for TLHC scans will have coronary artery calcium (CAC) – a new marker of heightened risk of a heart attack or stroke which is identified during the scan. Discovering these higher risk patients who have evidence of early disease, but are not already taking a statin, is an optimal way to maximise the health outcomes of the TLHC program. This could potentially reduce both cancer and cardiovascular deaths through a single test.
Alan Bagnall and Professor Yitka Graham of the University of Sunderland are championing a digital-first pathway to support and manage patients found to have CAC on their TLHC scans. “We will be working directly with patients and GPs to hear their views on how best to reduce their risk of heart disease and reduce health inequality,” says Professor Yitka Graham.
PocDoc is an app-based technology platform that can deliver the full end-to-end cardiovascular assessment pathway, including a quantified, lab-grade 5 marker lipid (cholesterol) lateral flow test with results in their app, in under 10 minutes.
The PocDoc pathway collects all the information needed for a cardiovascular risk assessment, including blood pressure and BMI. The app displays all results, including blood marker values, in a health dashboard with comparison to NHS clinical guidelines.
This pilot will see thousands of patients in the North East be offered a PocDoc test either at home or in a community setting after their TLHC scan. Clinical teams in partnership with Dr Alan Bagnall will access the cloud-based PocDoc dashboard to assess future treatment pathways in real time, including prescription of statins where appropriate.
This pilot builds on PocDoc’s current roll out in the North East in partnership with the cardiovascular disease prevention team at the Academic Health Science Network for the North East North Cumbria (AHSN NENC), which is designed to dramatically increase access to cardiovascular assessments at home, at work and in the community in both primary and secondary prevention.
Dr Alan Bagnall, a consultant interventional cardiologist at The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Deputy Clinical Director of the CRN NENC, says:
“Because of the shared risk factors of age and smoking, almost all patients in the ground-breaking TLHC program will be at elevated risk of having a heart attack or stroke over the next 10 years. Delivering a digital-first cardiovascular screening of patients who have risk factors and coronary artery calcium is an optimal way to maximise the health outcomes of the TLHC program, potentially reducing both cancer and cardiovascular deaths through a single test and providing NHS England with significant cost savings. We are proud to be partnering with PocDoc to demonstrate the North East’s commitment to using innovation to save lives.”
Steve Roest, CEO and co-founder at PocDoc, says:
“We are proud and excited to announce our partnership with consultant cardiologist Dr Alan Bagnall and his team at the NIHR Clinical Research Network North East and North Cumbria to pilot the PocDoc pathway for TLHC patients in the North East of England. Each year, the TLHC will find 200,000 people in the UK who are at high risk of a heart attack or stroke but who are not being treated. By providing a quick, easy, convenient and digital-first way to conduct cardiovascular assessments at scale with simple follow treatment, PocDoc can help the NHS deliver even better outcomes from an already highly successful programme.”
Visit AITechPark for cutting-edge Tech Trends around AI, ML, Cybersecurity, along with AITech News, and timely updates from industry professionals!
