Huma acquires iPLATO healthcare

London-based patient engagement firm iPLATO Healthcare has been acquired by global healthtech firm Huma.

iPLATO’s software covers a network of 26.6 million patients across nearly 3,000 NHS primary care organisations and its myGP app is used by almost 2.4 million people in England.

The two companies will continue to operate independently but will combine their expertise to enable more predictive, and personalised patient care.

Tobias Alpsten, iPLATO CEO, said: “We see a time when data collection highlights people at high risk, so those individuals can be offered personalised screening, treatment, advice, support and continual follow-up remotely - even alerting clinicians when patients need to be seen in-person.”

AI used to develop blood test that predicts survival in COVID patients

Researchers at Charity-University Medicine Berlin have developed a blood test to predict survival in COVID-19 patients through proteomics.

Machine learning was used to identify 14 proteins in the blood which can predict how the virus will develop.

A peer-reviewed study published in PLOS Digital Health, found the technique was 96% accurate, meaning it could help doctors decide who to prioritise for intensive treatments.

Senior author on the study, Dr Florian Kurth, Charity-University Medicine Berlin, said: “The proteomic risk prediction was far better than the prognosis derived from established risk-assessment scores, which are routinely used in clinical care.”

Northern Ireland’s GPs get prescribing decision support

GPs and other primary care prescribers across Northern Ireland will have access to decision support technology at the point of prescribing, following an agreement with medicines optimisation firm First Databank (FDB).

The firm’s OptimiseRx tool enables prescribers to receive messages, in their existing clinical IT systems, containing specific information relevant to prescribing decisions.

Dr Brenda Bradley, pharmacy lead, Health and Social Care Board, said: “Having information from a prescribing decision support solution will provide them with timely advice around evidenced based, cost-effective prescribing.”

Suffolk and North East Essex ICS rolls-out integrated care platform

Suffolk and North East Essex integrated care system (ICS) has joined forces with openEHR platform provider, Better to deliver a working proof of concept for an integrated care platform.

The platform will support people with life limiting conditions by providing real-time access to a single information set focusing on their health and care needs, anticipatory care plans and wishes.  

A statement from Suffolk & North East Essex ICS, said: “The programme is the first step in the ICS’s strategy to provide a consolidated   that is centred around the person, across its population of one million.”

NHS developing standards roadmap

NHS England and NHS Improvement are developing a standards roadmap which will provide a list of proposed and developing data, information and technical standards, including potential changes to existing standards. 

The roadmap aims to enable health and adult social care organisations and suppliers to plan the implementation of standards. It forms a commitment in ‘Data saves lives: reshaping health and social care with data (draft)’ and will be live from April 2022.

A working version is due to be published on the NHS England website this month to enable review and feedback by stakeholders.