LIVI, the UK branch of Europe’s largest digital healthcare provider KRY, has launched a free web-based platform that will enable healthcare professionals to connect with patients via video consultations.

LIVI Connect - which operates as Care Connect by KRY elsewhere in Europe - is available to all practicing medical professionals free of charge, regardless of whether they already have a LIVI account, and is available in 10 languages.

LIVI, working in conjunction with the NHS, is offering training to encourage uptake of the app, which could facilitate appointments “within minutes”. The app will soon be rolled out worldwide.

WHY IT MATTERS

LIVI Connect allows key workers such as GPs to continue providing safe, confidential consultations for patients who are self-isolating or who have chronic illnesses. It also enables clinicians who are vulnerable to infection to offer medical support without risking their own health.

Doctors log on to the platform by email and then send patients a unique link to their mobile phones, which will launch the video consultation. This one-way system is encrypted, protecting the clinician’s private information.

THE LARGER PICTURE

The launch comes shortly after official advice to healthcare professionals in the UK said to switch to remote consultations where possible. This is designed to limit the spread of the virus whilst still maintaining access to vital medical services. Video consultations in particular are being promoted as the most effective option but technical issues have been reported as an obstacle.

The pandemic has underlined the importance of having strong digital health infrastructure. Germany, for example, which has the lowest reported fatality rate in Europe, has benefited from the easy integration of its digital systems, which has eased pressures on their healthcare system.

Since the coronavirus outbreak, a range of med tech has flooded the market with tools that identify symptoms, track the virus and offer advice. This includes a symptom-checker available to existing LIVI customers. It also saw the release of a digital care assistant by one of LIVI’s primary competitors, Babylon Health.

ON THE RECORD

Explaining the release of the platform, KRY’s CEO Johannes Schildt said: “We’ve launched LIVI Connect in response to the growing demand from doctors across Europe for a digital solution to the COVID-19 pandemic. For doctors that need to continue to see their patients, this gives a simple and secure option for the delivery of video appointments, at no extra cost.”

He continued: “The fully encrypted video meeting platform will allow any clinician to conduct a secure video consultation with their patients – at the touch of a button.”

Annette Alaeus, head of infectious diseases at KRY, stated: “With hospitals diverting resources to caring for COVID-19 patients, LIVI Connect will ensure those at home can stay in contact with doctors who can provide specialised treatment – this is vital for those with ongoing chronic conditions like diabetes, and for ensuring that our population can stay as healthy and well as possible.”