Novartis Pharmaceuticals UK Limited and Cievert Limited, a UK provider of innovative digital healthcare solutions, today announced a digital innovation partnership. The initiative aims to support patient care in rheumatology and dermatology by capturing patient-reported data and allowing clinicians to prioritise appointments on a needs-based model of care. The partnership was identified via the Novartis BIOME, with a selection procedure involving NHS clinicians and innovation leads. Novartis and Cievert are working closely with the NHS to launch pilot programmes at various sites across the UK.
Collaborating with patients and healthcare professionals (HCPs) across the UK, this digital platform aims to support patients, HCPs and the NHS in three areas:
1. Capturing patient digital health records in one single platform, which could reduce misalignment among healthcare teams, saving clinicians valuable time going between multiple systems and ultimately resulting in more timely management of care
2. Helping coordinate and prioritise appointments based on patient need rather than routinely scheduled reviews, which could help reduce waiting lists and hospital visits
3. Collecting real-time patient data in the community and helping patients to take more control over their health and care
By feeding patient-reported outcomes and disease activity measures into the platform, patients have the opportunity to be more involved in their care. Patients are encouraged to report symptoms and progress from home and between appointments, which can be remotely reviewed by clinical teams.
“In the current climate, the remote management of chronic disease is regularly navigated without supporting information from the patient regarding their condition. This creates a gap in our ability to understand the full picture of disease activity and progression in the outpatient setting,” said Dr Sandeep Bawa, Consultant Rheumatologist, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. “A remote monitoring solution that allows us to assess a patient’s disease activity in the community will allow us to manage a patient’s care more effectively, by identifying those in need of early clinical review from those who may require less frequent review. Now more than ever, digital tools have the potential to transform care for our patients and help streamline processes in the NHS by supporting the transition to a needs-based model of care, whilst maintaining best practice.”
“In this digital age, patients are increasingly looking to take a proactive role in their disease management. This is especially true for chronic diseases such as axial spondyloarthritis, which can affect everyone differently and has a large impact on daily activities – tailored management can make all the difference” said Dr Dale Webb, Chief Executive of the UK’s National Axial Spondyloarthritis Society (NASS). “We are thrilled that numerous patient groups and patients from across the UK have been involved in the development of this digital platform, providing key insights to help ensure the needs of patients are represented.”
Caitriona Walsh, Regional Partnership Business Unit Head, Novartis UK, commented “As the UK marks a year since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the NHS is facing a large backlog of patient care. It is a core Novartis priority to invest in digital solutions to better support healthcare professionals by helping to prioritise patients which ultimately may increase NHS capacity and help save time. By partnering with Cievert we are applying the latest technology to support the NHS in its recovery.”
“In 5 years’ time we expect the existing clinical model of care to look markedly different,” said Cievert CEO and former NHS Clinician, Chris Kennelly. “There is a unique opportunity to accelerate digital reform of the NHS after COVID-19, which has marked a shift in digital and remote healthcare access. Our partnership with Novartis is a big step in the right direction and we are looking forward to bringing our digital-first solution to HCPs and patients in the UK.”
