App revolutionises cancer care, easing pressure on clinicians and empowering patients

Dr Rayna Patel

CEO & Co-Founder Vinehealth

As an already pressured NHS deals with a growing cancer patient backlog, clinicians face the challenge of delivering patient-centric care within a resource-constrained healthcare system.

Digital solutions can help resolve challenges by streamlining interactions between patients and healthcare providers. Vinehealth achieves this for clinicians, industry and academic researchers and patients alike. The Vinehealth ecosystem comprises an NHS England-endorsed smartphone app designed around the needs of people living with cancer and VinehealthPRO, a connected dashboard for clinicians.

Supported self-management to improve patient wellbeing

This ecosystem was launched in 2018 by former NHS doctor Dr Rayna Patel and Georgina Kirby, a data scientist. They recognised the potential for digital technology to combat the lack of day-to-day support experienced by many people living with cancer.

[The app] grants clinicians unparalleled insights into patient wellbeing at home, enabling them to identify and address deteriorations more rapidly.

Patients can use the app to access supportive content from the UK’s leading charities, manage their medications, receive appointment reminders and track their mood, physical activity and symptoms.

In addition to reducing information overload and the pressure to recall detailed information during brief appointments, supported self-management helps patients to feel in control of their treatment. Studies with patients from hospitals, such as The Royal Marsden and Cromwell Hospital, reported significant improvements in feelings of wellbeing.

Unparalleled patient insights for clinicians

People living with cancer can download and use the app without an invitation from their healthcare provider. But they may be invited onto the app by their clinician, who can then view the patient’s data in real time using the clinician dashboard.

This grants clinicians unparalleled insights into patient wellbeing at home, enabling them to identify and address deteriorations more rapidly. Clinicians using the dashboard report an improved understanding of how their patients are feeling between appointments, as well as opportunities to personalise care or prevent emergency admissions.

Pharmaceutical companies can also use this technology to support clinical trials, real-world evidence studies and patient support programmes. This patient-reported data enables researchers to develop a deeper understanding of how cancer therapies are affecting patients. This data is vital in reimagining the cancer pathway to improve the patient experience and overall outcomes for people living with cancer.